After Four Deaths in the Northeast, DEA Cracks Down on Molly Dealers, Reports Drugs Are Not Pure

A bad batch of Molly, a popular club drug that is marketed as a pure and safe form of ecstasy, was reportedly responsible for the deaths of four young adults in the Northeast at the end of August.

The four Molly victims are Mary ‘Shelley’ Goldsmith, 19, who died August 31 at one of Washington, DC’s largest nightclubs (although toxicology reports are pending); Olivia Rotondo, 20, and Jeffrey Russ, 23, who died at New York City’s Electric Zoo dance party after taking the drug; and Brittany Flannigan, 19, from New Hampshire, who died August 28 after apparently overdosing on MDMA at a Boston concert. Four other party-goers were sickened in New York after taking the same batch of Molly that killed Russ and Rotondo at New York’s Electric Zoo. Reportedly, 12 people total suffered Molly overdoses at the Boston club over the course of the summer.

The DEA announced on Thursday, September 12th, that Molly is not what users expect and could be much more dangerous. Ruthless drug dealers, per the DEA, often cut the drug with other chemicals, or even sell a different drug entirely. In many cases, the agency said, “Molly” is actually bath salts, or another synthetic drug.

“Kids think ‘Molly’ is a pure, safe ecstasy, but it’s not,” said DEA Special Agent Erin Mulvey. “It’s not pure, it’s not safe and it’s not even ecstasy.”

Drug regulators know knock-off Molly as methylon – a drug exported in bulk from China, and chemically similar to bath salts. Toxicology reports indicate that this fake Molly caused the deaths of Matthew Rybarczyk, 20, after a rave on Governors Island, NY. Other designer synthetic drugs competing with Molly include mephedrone; cathinone, one of the more common ingredients of synthetic bath salts; and MDPZ. Of 232 samples tested this year by EcstasyData.org, which invites people to send drug samples to its lab, just 26.7 percent were pure MDMA, 12.5 percent were cut with other chemicals ranging from methamphetamine and cocaine to Tylenol and ibuprofen and about 32 percent contained no MDMA.

“There were bags and bags pumping things into him, and the blood was coming out of his mouth, his nose,” Peggy Rybarczyk remembered yesterday of watching her grandson die slowly in his hospital bed.

According to the DEA, drug dealers often get away with selling methylon instead of ecstasy because bath salts give the user a similar euphoric high. However, other side effects of the drug include agitation, paranoia, and hallucinations.

Although the drug is officially banned at the federal level, states have done little to regulate synthetic drugs recently, and many harsh drugs are widely available on the internet.

“We’re seeing a proliferation of it,” citywide Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan told The Post. “We urgently need a law that would allow us to prosecute the sale of this deadly substance.”

Fairfax County Police narcotics officers have seized 17 lbs and over 3,000 pills of “Molly” since January 2012. A bust in Harlem recently landed 40 grams of ecstasy and four firearms, including a submachine gun.

The Strom Law Firm Can Help with Narcotics Drug Charges, Including Molly, Heroin, and Prescription Drugs

The narcotics drug charges lawyers at the Strom Law Firm, LLC are dedicated to protecting the rights of our clients, providing aggressive representation grounded in our years of experience building and interpreting the laws of South Carolina.  If you or a loved one is facing drug charges relating to molly, marijuana or any other drug, you need to contact a South Carolina drug crimes lawyer at the Strom Law Firm today. We offer free, confidential consultations to discuss the facts of your case. 803.252.4800