Authorities Warn About Dangers Of 'Molly'
BOSTON (CBS) --- A second New England college student has apparently died from an overdose of the club drug known as "Molly," or MDMA.
Twenty-year-old Olivia Rotondo was a junior at UNH. She was attending a New York City music festival at the time of her death.
Authorities are now sending out a warning about the drug which seems to go along with the culture of electronic style music.
That's the kind of music that was playing at a concert at the Bank of America Pavilion when three men were rushed to the hospital and at the House of Blues where New Hampshire native Brittany Flannigan died and two others overdosed.
Investigators think all are tied to Molly, a powder form of Ecstasy or MDMA.
In 2011, there were more than 22,000 emergency room visits linked to MDMA. That's twice the number reported in 2004.
"We are learning a very painful lesson that we've seen when you have unrestricted or available illegal drugs you'll have long term addiction or some short term fatalities," Attorney General Martha Coakley said Monday.
All of the people involved in the Boston overdoses are in their late teens and twenties.
It's a college age crowd getting the message about this drug just as they're settling in for a new school year.
Drug counselor Mary Dobas says parents need to talk to their kids about Molly.
Dobas says it is best to have the facts about the drug and be specific about the dangers.
"I feel scared for these kids, knowing the damage Ecstasy can do and that Molly is MDMA supposedly in its most potent form."
