DEA Warns TomorrowWorld Festival Attendees on Dangers of "Molly"

The three-day electronic music festival TomorrowWorld kicked off Friday afternoon in south Fulton County with upwards to 150,000 people expected to attend in the normally quiet Chattahoochee Hills area.

This is the first time the event, which originated in Belgium, has been held in the United States, and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) wants attendees to mix an extra dose of carefulness and responsibility with their partying good times this weekend.

The DEA has issued a warning to the public about the dangers of “Molly,” a well-documented and dangerous designer drug that has recently surfaced at a number of large music events, with catastrophic consequences.

According to the DEA:

The pure, high quality powder form of the popular designer drug ecstasy (3/4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) or MDMA, has often been referred to as “Molly”, with additional street names such as “Meow Meow” and “Drone.” As the manufacture of “Molly” has evolved, it is well-documented that the drug has been adulterated and formed into a number of dangerous and potentially deadly analogues.

The DEA does not have specific evidence that “Molly” or similar analogues will necessarily be present at this weekend’s TomorrowWorld festival. However, concert goers and parents should be aware that there have been several recent reports of a substantial number of emergency room visits, and even overdose deaths associated with “Molly” nationwide.

On June 30, 2013, one person died and 125 were hospitalized after ingesting a drug called “Molly” while attending the Central Washington State Music Festival. At a bar in Boston, on August 28, 2013, three people overdosed, and one person died from a drug overdose from what authorities believe may have been “Molly.” And on September 2, 2013, two people died and four more were hospitalized in New York City at a concert after apparently taking a drug marketed as “Molly.” Toxicology reports will provide a better understanding of the causes of these deaths.

“The drug ‘Molly’ is unlawfully marketed as the purest form of MDMA, said Harry S. Sommers, the special agent in charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. “This drug and similar analogues only offer negative consequences like elevated body temperature, labored breathing, a rapid heartbeat, and in some instances, death. DEA and its law enforcement counterparts are committed to alerting the public about such dangerous substances.”

“Most partygoers may plan to attend this dance festival purely for the dancing and musical experience, but other attendees, like unlawful designer drug distributors, may have a more menacing agenda of selling these dangerous substances and profiting behind the cover of bright lights and pulsating music. This is why DEA is proactively alerting all attendees and their parents that synthetic designer drugs may be a part of the landscape and attendees should avoid using them at all costs.”

The DEA encourages parents, along with their children, to educate themselves about the dangers of legal and illegal drugs by visiting DEA’s interactive websites at www.justhinktwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com and www.dea.gov.