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Last updated on Tuesday, February 24, 2015
(MIDDLETOWN, Conn.) - Wesleyan University says at least 11 students have been hospitalized with symptoms of overdoses on the drug known as “Molly.”
Dean Michael Whaley, vice president of student affairs, said in a letter to the campus that one of the students, a sophomore, was in critical condition at Middlesex Hospital on Sunday. That evening, Middlesex police said two patients at Hartford Hospital had been elevated to critical condition, and two were in serious condition.
The university says it's aware of 11 students being treated for overdose symptoms consistent with the use of Molly, a stimulant psychoactive drug also known as methylone. No other information about their conditions was released.
Whaley said university police and residence officials are investigating, along with Middlesex police.
The drug called Molly isn't what most of its users think it is. If you Google "Molly," many articles say the drug is "pure" MDMA, the active ingredient in Ecstasy. Someone who buys or takes Molly now is probably ingesting dangerous synthetic drugs that have not been tested and are produced in widely varying strengths. The DEA says only 13% of the Molly seized in New York state the last four years actually contained any MDMA, and even then it often was mixed with other drugs.
The lab-created chemicals mimic the effects of MDMA; most of them are central nervous system stimulants that cause euphoric highs. They can also cause a rapid heartbeat, high blood pressure, blood vessel constriction and sweating, and can prevent the body from regulating temperature. Some of the chemicals have been reported to cause intense, prolonged panic attacks, psychosis and seizures.
After they wear off, the chemicals can cause devastating depression. Several of these compounds have caused deaths.
Almost all the chemicals in Molly and other synthetic drugs come from laboratories in China. Chinese chemists sell the drugs online, and middlemen in the United States and around the world cut it with other substances, and either place it in capsules or sell it as powder. Other kinds of synthetic drugs can be sprayed onto plant material and smoked, such as synthetic marijuana.
But it's difficult for law enforcement to keep track of all the chemicals. The DEA says it's seen about 200 individual chemical compounds since 2009 and 80 new compounds since 2012. As soon as a compound is discovered and banned, another one is created to take its place.
Interestingly enough, the formulas for these drugs were discovered by legitimate scientists working on new medications. The formulas couldn't be used as medicine because of the stimulant or hallucinogenic effects they had users, but the "recipes" for the drugs still remain.
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