"Molly" Showing Up In Small Towns
BOSTON (CBS) - The drug's nickname is Molly. Recording artists sing about it. But this new chemical has more and more people concerned. And Chief Correspondent Joe Shortsleeve says local police departments are now taking to social media to get the message out.
You can hear and feel the driving beat at electronic dance parties at big city night clubs. And many of the young people are getting high on "Molly."
Molly or MDMA is a chemical drug most commonly used in ecstasy. It is often mentioned in hit songs and by superstars like Madonna on stage.
"How many people in this crowd have seen Molly?" she said at a concert.
Users say it gives them intense feelings of pleasure but after the high comes overwhelming depression. We talked to teens who asked not to be identified.
"Catatonic depression basically...it just zombified me," said one teen.
"Really bad, you don't want to get up, you don't want to eat anything. You just sit there. You don't want to talk to anyone."
But Molly has moved far beyond big city night clubs. Look at a recent Facebook post from police in a small central Massachusetts town warning residents about Molly.
Barre Chief Erik DeMetropoulos says that one post got 10,000 hits.
"And for a town of 5,300 people, that is really cool to see," he said.
Does the chief think the drug Molly is already in Barre? "I am sure," he responded.
Molly is not hard to find and now there is even more cause for alarm as dealers have started mixing it with another highly addictive drug to get repeat business.
The kids in downtown Barre know about it.
They think it's a problem, "Because they don't know what they are doing and Molly is a worse drug than they think."
Dr. Stephen Dewey who studies addiction disorders agrees.
"It can kill because your body temperature goes up," he says. "It can kill because it causes a seizure. It can kill you because it causes cardiac arrest."
The Barre Police Chief says using social media while patrolling his small town helps him keep a look out for Molly.
