‘Molly’ culture can kill; addiction expert on two deaths at rave
Time to get real about a drug that is associated with raves, EDM (electronic dance music) and party party time.
The last day of a dance music festival featuring Avicii, David Guetta and Diplo was canceled because of two deaths from “molly” or ecstasy.
Electric Zoo festival in New York, NY. was shuttered last Sunday after two attendees died and four others had to be hospitalized during the first two days of performances on Friday and Saturday.
The two who wound up dead were identified as Jeffrey Russ, 23, from Rochester, NY and 20-year-old Olivia Rotondo from Providence, Rhode Island.
New York Daily News reported that she tweeted in the hours before her death: ‘The amount of traveling I’ve done today is unreal. Just get me to the damn zoo.’
Four more people were treated in intensive care units in New York hospitals, authorities said.
The festival took place on Randall’s Island in the East River, New York City. The event’s founders expressed condolences on its website to the families of those who died.
The message read: ‘The founders of Electric Zoo send our deepest condolences to the families of the two people who passed away this weekend.
Doctors who have studied molly say it speeds up metabolism and users who overdose at clubs and dance parties don’t feel it at all until it’s too late.
According to the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), “molly” is the powder or crystal form of MDMA — or 3, 4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, a chemical drug used in the pressed pill Ecstasy. Unlike Ecstasy, which has a reputation for being laced with everything from caffeine to methamphetamine, “molly” — a name shortened from “molecule” — is thought of as “pure” MDMA. The DEA labels it aSchedule 1 controlled substance, considered to have a high potential for abuse and no accepted use in medical treatment, which means it’s illegal.
Board certified internistaddiction specialist for the esteemed rehab center Cliffside Malibu, Dr. Damon Raskin, sounds the warning on the drug: “This is another tragic example of how dangerous this ‘party drug’ can be. Young people still see ecstasy as innocuous or just for fun, whereas the truth is that this drug has serious medical consequences.”
