DETROIT – It's called Molly -- widely known as a party drug popular among teens. Pop stars have written songs about it, but what they don't mention is how deadly the drug can be because of what gets put in it. And one simple mistake can end up costing you your life.
Local 4 Defenders were the first to tell you about the new party drug called Molly -- a pill made popular by celebrities and musicians. Now, a serious warning has been issued, notifying people that the Molly being sold in Metro Detroit has been tested and found to be tampered with potentially deadly chemicals.
"The most recent intelligence, it is not MDMA," said DEA Special Agent Rich Isaacson. "It has chemicals like the old bath salts in it. "(They're) very dangerous, they cause aggressive and paranoid behavior in the user."
Molly is an illegal pharmaceutical -- man made. Molly that's been seized in drug raids has been tested, analyzed and found to be contaminated with cheap, dangerous chemicals.
"Someone who wants to stretch their dollar, make a little extra, they cut it with something," said Brett, a college junior. "Next thing you know, because you wanted to make a couple dollars, someone's burying their son."
Brett said a friend of his caught what's known on the streets as a bad batch. That's when drug dealers mix pure product with cheaper chemicals to make more money.
"I know someone who, it was their first time, you know, kid out having fun, didn't think twice about it, you know, and, uh, he took it, first time and his heart stopped, he died," Brett said.
It's especially scary because Molly is the club drug celebrities like Miley Cyrus write songs about; the drug Madonna let her fans know she's up to speed on, which gets fans' hearts pumping with the pop of a pill.
"A lot of it's experimental," said Pauline Hryzodub, a college sophomore. "I don't think kids really know what they're getting into, but it's the cool thing to do, so they're going to do it."
People have reported liking Molly because of its high purity.
"If it's the purest form of ecstasy, it's the purest form of stupid," said Dominique Witherspoon, a college sophomore.
Local 4 spoke with medical expert Dr. Frank McGeorge about the recent tampered with Molly found in local drug seizures.
"Personally, I've taken care of a lot of people who have knowingly taken a drug and found themselves in the emergency department with severe side effects, because it was something that they didn't expect at all," McGeorge said.
Molly is manufactured, brought to the United States through Canada, so Detroit is a main entry point, coming across the Ambassador bridge and through the U.S.-Canadian tunnel on a weekly basis.
"They're probably using the cheapest thing they can find to cut it, and it's more likely you're going to end up with a dangerous combination," McGeorge said.
So, kids who think they are buying the party drugs that some celebrities praise are really ingesting dangerous, if not deadly, knock offs.
"That's a real concern, playing Russian roulette," said Isaacson.
The DEA recommends talking to your kids immediately about the drug. If they have Molly, or know someone who does, they should destroy the pills immediately.