Molly is Here - Parents Beware

Molly has arrived in Kings Park in a big fashion – it is showing up at high school
parties and in the rooms of college-age students.  It is being sold and
used by Kings Park youth.   We know this because several of our board members have been approached by Kings Park parents and teens with regard to Molly and
we have been presented with a sample of it.

While the region is grappling with a youth opiate epidemic and all eyes are on that problem, Molly has slipped in the back door. 

Generally known as the purest form of Ecstasy, Molly is found in pill form.  However, the stuff that has shown up in our community is in powder form and it is being snorted.   Unfortunately, Molly in powder form (or in capsules filled with the powder) is often cut with highly addictive and dangerous chemicals such as crystal meth, cocaine and in some neighborhood on Long Island, traces of heroin.

About a decade back Ecstasy was popular in Kings Park and in suburban and urban communities around the country and was often used at raves or large dance parties and was frequently referred to as a designer drug or a club
drug. 

KPITK had yet to be formed at that time, however, there was a group
called COMPASS with a similar mission of preventing substance abuse. 

With the help of our then Superintendant, we hired a two under-cover narcotics agents to speak to parents and guidance counselors about this drug and its implications.

The Suffolk County officers showed a riveting presentation on how Ecstasy (MDMA) caused holes to form in brain matter of frequent users.  The presentation was shocking to many in the sixty person crowd.

Mary Silberstein, LCSW, CASAC is a psychotherapist and addiction and recovery
expert who practices in Northport.   Kings Park in the kNOw has been working closely with Silberstein since our inception almost six years ago.

“Hearing reports that Molly is in our area is disturbing, the DEA states that MDMA is a Schedule 1 controlled substance,” she said.  “MDMA can sauce confusion,
anxiety, depression, paranoia, sleep problems and drug cravings, high doses of MDMA can interfere with the ability to regulate body temperature, leading to liver,
kidney and cardiovascular failure.”

She says it’s critical for parents to learn to recognize signs and symptoms of drug
and alcohol use and question their children. 

“Parents also have to have that uncomfortable conversation about drugs and alcohol with their children as just saying NO does not arm children with the strength to walk away from peer pressure,” said Silberstein.

Ecstasy was originally created by a German pharmaceutical company and patented in 1913; it was never used by the general public.  There are many
rumors about its use by the United States government  in the 1950’s to
treat post-traumatic stress disorder but these rumors cannot be substantiated.

According to Narconon, a national treatment facility that has been treating drug addiction for fifty eyears, Ecstasy, or MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), is structurally similar to
methamphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline.

Silberstein recommends that parent’s role play with their kids about difficult situations to prepare them so if they are at a party where drugs are being sold or used, they know how to handle the situation and have a way to remove themselves from the situation.

“Parents also need to seek out help from Coaltions like Kings Park in the kNOw or from treatment professionals,” recommended Silberstein.

The bottom line is that Molly is dangerous – it causes brain damage by destroying
neurons responsible for making the well known chemical serotonin, which is
responsible for controlling, mood, sleep, pain, sexual activity and violent
behavior. 

Talk to your teens and young adults about Molly, most are under the impression that Molly is a safe drug but it is being adulterated with highly addictive and dangerous chemicals, our young people must be made aware of this.

Mary Silberstein can be reached at 631.838.8133.  

For more information on Molly, check out the Kings Park in the kNOw facebook page for the link to the CBS coverage of Molly with frequent KPITK contributor Dr. Stephen Dewey of the Feinstein Institute.