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Drugs & Health Blog

Concert Goers Overdose on Molly

This blog post is archived and is no longer being updated. For the latest content, please visit the main Drugs & Health Blog page.
Concert Goers
Sara Bellum
September 05, 2013

MDMA, or Molly, is suspected in the death [link removed, post does not exist anymore] of 2 people who attended Electric Zoo—a 3-day festival of dance music in New York. Four others were hospitalized.

Earlier this summer, we reported that 21% of music festival goers admitted to using illegal drugs at a concert. Unfortunately, the tragic incident in New York resulted in multiple overdoses and forced the mayor of Randall's Island to cancel the last day of the concert.

Though Molly has been connected to electronic and dance music for years, it has recently gained popularity in mainstream music because of mentions by Kanye West, Madonna, and most recently, Miley Cyrus.

MDMA is a manmade stimulant that can dangerously raise your heart rate and blood pressure and even cause life-threatening dehydration—especially when combined with physical activity like dancing. Molly is a name for pure MDMA that comes in powder or crystal form. However, powder sold as “Molly” often is not pure. It is sometimes mixed with other drugs that can make an overdose more likely. Sometimes, it might not contain any MDMA at all.

People who buy and use drugs at music festivals have no way of knowing what they are really getting—or how it will affect them. It is important not to trust anyone trying to get you to take a drug. Just let music be your natural high.

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MDMA (Ecstasy)MollyDrug Overdose
Comments posted to the Drugs & Health Blog are from the general public and may contain inaccurate information. They do not represent the views of NIDA or any other federal government entity.

Comments

Submitted by snoopy on September 13, 2013
does it makes you feel dizzy ?
Submitted by NIDAMinds on September 19, 2013

@snoopy

Yes, one of the many possible negative effects of molly is dizziness. To learn more about how molly affects the body and brain visit the NIDA for Teens Drug Facts page on MDMA (Ecstasy or Molly): https://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts/mdma-ecstasy-or-molly.

Submitted by Aaron on December 15, 2013
It would require a very large amount of MDMA to overdose, at least 10 - 15 capsules. With an entire black market of "research" chemicals being sold in place as MDMA, I wouldn't be surprised if 2C-I or methylone was the culprit. One big qualm people have about molly is that "you don't know what you're taking". They most likely have never heard of a drug testing kit, which can be obtained quite easily at a reasonable price. Why is MDMA suddenly getting a bad rap after just one overdose? There are people dying everyday from alcohol and prescription pills, yet one hitch with the party drugs and all hell breaks loose. Media propaganda at it's finest.
Submitted by NIDAMinds on December 17, 2013

It's important to remember most people are not going to buy and use a drug testing kit.  And as you pointed out, much of what is sold as MDMA is not MDMA at all.  There are many other dangerous, synthetic chemicals being sold as MDMA which can be very harmful.  In addition, this is not the first time there has been a problem with "the party drugs."  It's a growing problem that everyone should be aware of.