Molly or MDMA - the rave drug

Martha Fernback, a 15 year old, died on July 20th, 2013 after consuming 500mg (half a gram!) of MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine).

Her mother, Ann-Marie Cockburn said, “Martha wanted to get high. She didn’t want to die”. Cockburn launched a website in memory of her daughter, to reduce risk, and to encourage drug policy reforms, on the use of MDMA.

MDMA is a synthetic, psychoactive drug that has similarities to both stimulant amphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline. It is popularly called Molly or Ecstasy.

According to the database at the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), in 2012, 6.2% of the people in the age group of 12 to 18 years, 12.9% of the people in the age group of 18 to 25 years and 5.6% of the people above 26 years of age had used molly.

In 2013, 7.1% of 12th graders, 5.7% of 10th graders and 1.8% of 8th graders had used molly.

What do these statistics indicate? Our young population is using this drug in some way or the other, and we are losing young lives. Globally, the number is a lot higher.

Read on, to see what it does...

Molly produces feelings of increased energy, emotional warmth, empathy towards others, euphoria, and distortions in sensory and time perception. The drug was once called 'rave drug’, used extensively at parties.

However, in the current days, it seems to affect a broader range of users and ethnicities. The term molly, used as slang for molecule, refers to the pure form of the drug. It is usually taken orally as a capsule or tablet.

You must be curious to know what molly does to the brain, isn't it?

It causes increased activity of three neurotransmitters namely serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. This causes elevated mood, increased love and trust for others, sexual arousal etc.

Experiments conducted at NIDA have shown that animals self-administer MDMA indicating its abuse potential and addictive quality. Other symptoms of MDMA are increased heart rate and blood pressure, increased muscle tension, involuntary teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision, faintness, chills and sweating.

A high dosage can raise the body temperature significantly causing harm through seizures and brain damage.

You must be interested to know about how many deaths molly has caused until now.

The death rate of MDMA is roughly 2 in 100,000 users globally, while the rate of MDMA usage is much higher.

The emergency room visits are at a higher level for MDMA than its rate of usage. This is because, in most cases, PMA (another chemical compound) is sold in place of MDMA which by itself is very toxic. PMA causes sudden death, unlike MDMA.

Users become more likely to seek medical attention if they fear something is wrong. This fear has increased due to irresponsible  use by younger and less competent/careful users leading to tragic deaths. In a recent study done in the UK, there was presence of MDMA in 81 cases of death. When Ecstasy (MDMA) related deaths occur, the most common cause is complications as a result of severe overheating ('heat stroke').

The effect of increased love and trust for others may encourage unsafe sex, which is a risk factor for contracting HIV and hepatitis. In 1985, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) labeled MDMA as schedule I drug with high abuse potential and no recognized medicinal use. Currently, it is being studied in clinical trials for possible use in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety in terminal cancer patients.

MDMA is not a safe drug to use and ignorant users often lose their lives without their own knowledge.