Pubdate: Mon, 23 Sep 2013
Source: Staten Island Advance (NY)
Copyright: 2013 Advance Publication Inc.
Contact:  http://www.silive.com/advance/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/646
Author: Thomas Checchi

MORE 'MOLLY' OVERDOSES SPARK SEN. SCHUMER TO PLOT A FEDERAL STRATEGY

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- With more reports of young people overdosing 
on the "party drug" commonly referred to as Molly, U.S. Sen. Charles 
Schumer wants D.C. to stage a legal assault to ban the chemicals used 
to make the drug.

Schumer, (D-NY), said Sunday that a strategy involving federal 
agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, was needed to 
attack the dangerous trend.

"This summer there have been a rash of overdoses of the drug, which 
is commonly taken at music festivals - three of which, in New York 
City, were fatal," Schumer stated.

"Right now Molly and similar drugs are easy to manufacture because 
many hallucinogenic chemicals are not banned by federal law."

RASH OF DEATHS

Marketed as a pure form of Ecstasy, with the MDMA as the main 
ingredient, Molly has surged in popularity recently, and so have the 
number of deaths connected to it.

A rash of overdose deaths several weeks ago, including two recently 
at an electronic music festival on Randall's Island, has triggered 
concern that there's a bad batch on the black market.

Boston police say they are concerned there may be a dangerously 
tainted version being sold in the Northeast after multiple overdoses 
in Massachusetts and New York.

Three people overdosed on Molly at the House of Blue in Boston, 
including a college student from New Hampshire who died. And two 
other people apparently overdosed on the same drug at a concert in Boston.

And the Randall's Island festival, two people died and four others 
were hospitalized. The NYPD said those deaths appeared to be linked to Molly.

The last day of the Electronic Zoo festival on Labor Day weekend was 
canceled as a result.

In July, a Midland Beach man died following a night out clubbing in Manhattan.

The 20-year-old, who attended a similar concert on Governors Island 
that Sunday night, was taken by ambulance to New York Presbyterian 
Hospital in Manhattan, where he died about 10 p.m. the following day.

He reportedly had an extremely high fever and a family member 
speculated that it was the result of an overdose, possibly Molly or a 
similar drug.

THE STRATEGY

Schumer used a similar strategy last year to outlaw synthetic drugs 
most associated with "bath salts" -- which simulated the effect of 
cocaine and amphetamines that were sold in smoke shops and some grocery stores.

Schumer is formulating legislation that would give the federal 
government greater ability to ban the wide-range of chemicals that 
after used to manufacture Molly.

"Currently dealers are getting around federal law by slightly 
tweaking the chemical composition of substances that are banned," 
Schumer stated in a press release.

"As this drug gets more popular, it also gets more dangerous as drug 
dealers cut it with increasingly deadly chemicals," Schumer stated. 
"We've begun to see the number of cases of overdoses and death rise 
this summer, and things are going to get far worse unless we take 
immediate and aggressive action."

TROUBLING TREND

Between 10 million and 25 million have tried the drug in one form or 
another, according to the World Drug Report, Schumer's office reported.

The allure to Molly, which is short for "molecule," is that it is a 
"pure" form of Ecstasy, and that the user is only taking MDMA. 
However, in a 52-sample investigation by the DEA, it was reported 
that 30 were composed of 4-MEC, a synthetic stimulant, while the rest 
were a mixture of controlled and non-controlled substances.

Molly, which is taken for the euphoric feelings it gives its users, 
often has side effects that include teeth grinding, dehydration, 
chills and fever. It can also cause fatal seizures and hyperthermia.

Earlier this summer, a front page article headlined "DANCING WITH 
DEATH" in the Sunday Advance focused on the disturbing trend.
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