The parties of the late 1980s and early ’90s saw the heyday of ecstasy, but its popularity began to wane a decade ago after a number of deaths and hospitalizations.
That’s when Molly made her way onto the scene.
Over the last few years, drugs sold under that name have “flooded” the market, said Rusty Payne, a spokesman with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
In some states, there has been a 100-fold increase – the combined number of arrests, seizures, emergency room mentions and overdoses – between 2009 and 2012, according to DEA figures.
The drug is accessible and marketed to recreational drug users who believe it to be less dangerous than its predecessor, which was often cut with other substances, from Ritalin to LSD.
Like ecstasy, Molly is said to give a lengthy, euphoric high with slight hallucinogenic properties.
In reality, however, the promised pure MDMA experience “doesn’t exist,” said Payne.