Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - What is "Molly?" It's a drug that's popping up in your child's school and resource officers say it is growing in popularity in suburban districts. The real danger, however, is that the drug might not actually be what users expect.
A teenage Central New York "Molly" who would only identify himself as "John" says he uses "Molly" at least three or four times a week. While hesitant to share his name" "John" was open about how it makes him feel. "It's beautiful. It's a little roll. You feel like you are in constant motion and everything feels a little better," said "John". "I personally think this is my favorite. I just like the feeling of the roll."
John's drug dealer, who also declined to have his identity published, says he can make at least $200 a week by selling the drug. "This stuff sells quick like really, really quick. It sells well."
Law Enforcement officers says "Molly" is commonly known as MDMA, or methylenedioxymethamphetamine - the main component in ecstasy. But what users don't realize is that the "Molly" being sold in the Central New York area doesn't even have MDMA in it.
"It's all different things, it's a combination of chemicals none of which are MDMA and none of which are good for you," said Lt. Daniel Brogan, with the Onondaga County Sheriff's Department.
Even though there is no MDMA in CNY "Molly", Brogan says it still gives users the same effects because it's in the same family as Ecstasy. The whole situation is worrisome to doctors who know just how dangerous they can be.
"[It] can cause a lot of problems with our heart and make you feel like your heart is racing, it can also cause electrolyte problems and it can also make you have seizure and high body temperature," said Doctor Jeanna Marraffa, with the Upstate New York Poison Center.
John and his dealer both say they are aware of the danger, but don't feel it's enough to make them quit. When asked what would convince him to quit, John said, "'Cause I have to. Other than that, I won't."
Additionally, there's not much law enforcement can do if they find someone in possession of the drug. Unlike MDMA, the "Molly" found in Central New York is made up individual chemicals that are not illegal. The best police can do is confiscate the drug, which can be in either pill or powder form.
"Under state law, certain forms of what we're calling 'Molly' are not illegal basically because the fact that the laws have not caught up to these substances that people are inventing," said Lt. Daniel Brogan of the Onondaga County Sheriff's Department.
A former "Molly" user, who asked to be identified only as "Rich," says he can trace his bouts with rehab back to his abuse of the drug. "I guess I was a full blown addict," he said. "I needed it to survive at the time."
Rich's days are now "Molly"-free, but he's meeting countless others who are hooked just like he was. "I don't think you have to be involved with narcotics like heroin or cocaine just to get involved with Molly because of its recent availability in the suburbs. It's like that girl next door she's got Molly."
Suburbanite teens and young adults are exactly the kind of people that are walking through the door of rehab programs, looking for help overcoming a Molly addiction. Monika Taylor of Crouse Hospital's Chemical Dependency Services says she is seeing a large number of patients that fit this mold. "We have some groups right now where half of the treatment population identifies molly as one of their substances of choice," she said.
Rich says parents should know the signs of "Molly" use, such a dilated pupils or showing increased affection "when they would normally be withdrawn. That could be a sign they're on it."
Since NewsChannel 9 first started reporting about "Molly," a mother contacted us saying her son was in the hospital for three days this week after using the drug.
The Camillus mom says her son used the drug on Halloween. For the next two days, he didn't eat, sleep, or drink. He wound up in the hospital, and it took three days there to stabilize his heart rate. "[It was] five days of a complete nightmare in this house. I wouldn't want a parent or my worst enemy to experience what we've been through," she said. "Someone needs to know that it could possibly kill a teenager. I mean my son is 220 pounds, you know what it did to him."
The scariest part might have been finding out it could last much longer. "The doctor came back and said that he wanted to do a brain scan and at that point I thought one night of a mistake may damage him permanently," she said. "Luckily that came back OK."
It is certainly not the life she expected in her suburban neighborhood, but she knows now that if it can happen at her home, "it can happen anywhere."
