Molly, a powdered form of ecstasy or MDMA, is most often used by college students to “pregame” before parties and other outings and is linked to behaviors that could put those students at risk, found a new study. Researchers collected data from 151 students who drink alcohol, 18 to 25 years old, in 2014 and 2015. Study participants provided information about alcohol and drug use and about sexual behaviors.   The researchers write that many young people who use Molly may perceive it to be relatively safe, but that it has been shown to cause various harms. In this study, 21.5 percent of participants reported using Molly each week in the three months prior. The weekly users said they did an average of 2 hits over the course of 1.25 days in an average week. The drug was most commonly used between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Sixty percent reported engaging in at least one sexual behavior after their most recent use. Only a quarter of the participants reported using Molly without other substances in their most recent use and the most commonly reported other substances used were alcohol and marijuana.

Take away: “Efforts aimed at reducing Molly use among college students may also want to educate about the harms from using combinations of multiple drugs,” the researchers wrote in their discussion. Furthermore, those seeking to educate students about these risks might focus their efforts on places where students gather prior to going out rather than considering Molly to be primarily a drug of use at raves, festivals and other larger gatherings.

Stamates A, Linden-Carmichael A et al. (2017) An examination of the most recent episode of molly use among college students, Journal of Drug Issues, 1-8