In the 1970s it was all about sex, drugs and rock and roll. Today, it’s all about sex, drugs and electronic dance music (EDM), according to The Daily Reiveille. The EDM is taking over, and it has brought with it a whole new wave of drugs.
Gaining popularity in the era of the 1970s, the psychedelic drug ecstacy, is having a new following with the name Molly (short for molecule, pure form of ecstasy MDMA). “It’s an old drug with a new name,” said Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Jack Riley in a CBS Chicago interview. Molly, one of the most popular recreational psychoactives today, has gained a foothold in the younger crowd for its empathogenic, euphoric, and stimulant effects. Some of the ravers believe they have found a stimulant and a psychedelic that amounts to the perfect drug.
“MDMA is man-made—it doesn’t come from a plant like marijuana or tobacco do. Other chemicals or substances—such as caffeine, dextromethorphan (found in some cough syrups), amphetamines, PCP, or cocaine—are sometimes added to, or substituted for, MDMA in Ecstasy or Molly tablets. Makers of MDMA can add anything they want to the drug, so its purity is always in question,” as reported by the Drug Facts Report from The National Institute on Drug Abuse.
EcstasyData, an independent pill-testing program that collects and reviews Molly tablets, studied tablets in Washington D.C. last year and found ingredients ranging from caffeine to methylone, a substance found in bath salts.
Now, the problem is that mainstream artists like Madonna, Miley Cyrus and Kanye West are glorifying the use of Molly in their songs, evoking curiosity in fans to try them out.
As stated in the New York Post, Molly has been responsible for many things, including deaths. On Labor Day Weekend, two people died at the Electric Zoo in New York City for ingesting six hits of Molly.
It is a dangerous drug, yet a lot of people find it glamorizing and do not know the adverse effects of it. *Francisco, a senior at the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras, says he has taken Molly only when in the rave scene. He has been able to go to a lot of electric music festivals in Puerto Rico, the U.S. and Europe. “I have been to EDC Puerto Rico, Paul Oakenfold, Paul van Dyk, Sebastian Ingrosso, Afrojack, David Guetta, Deadmau5. I have gone two times to the Ultra Music Festival in Miami, Ultra Europe in Croacia, Sensation White into the Wild in Amsterdam, and Electric Zoo New York (2012).”
*Francisco said that he started going to EDM events a while after he graduated from high school. “It was the good vibes and ambiance that drawed most of my attention into going to these festivals. I do not consider myself a raver but I do love how ravers are. I love the attitude that they bring, which is do whatever you want as long as you are having a good time and you are not doing any harm.”
“I have used MDMA. I tried it out once because the curiosity was killing me. I liked the experience. Though, I think it is not necessary,” said *Francisco. The 22-year-old has said that “describing what you feel when you are raving is difficult, but one of the best moments in my life has been raving. I always tell my friends that they need to live it to know how it feels.”
But what everybody needs to realize is that curiosity has killed a lot of people. MDMA is not a joke. Since March, at least twelve young people attending dance events around the country have died after exhibiting symptoms consistent with overdoses from MDMA and other so-called party drugs, often called ecstasy or molly.
No deaths were linked to EDC Puerto Rico last weekend, but the fact is, that no federal agency has been keeping tabs on how many people have died of Molly. So it is hard to know the impact of this drug in the Island. But, it is not difficult to see the facts. MDMA is a risky drug, if you take it, the chances that you are going to die are pretty high. The question that you need to ask yourself is: how many more tragic deaths need to occur for you to see the dangers of this drug?
*References:
*The name was changed to protect the person’s identity
National Institute on Drug Abuse. Drug Facts Report-National Institute on Drug Abuse (http://www.drugabuse.gov/publi…) Bethesda, MD. NIDA, NIH, DHHS. Revised December 2012. Retrieved December 2012.
CBS Chicago. http://chicago.cbslocal.com/20…
The New York Times. http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes….
A History of Electronic Dance Music. http://poachedmag.com/2013/03/…