At the EDM-celebrating Paradiso Festival this past weekend at the Gorge east of Seattle, one person died, one went missing and more than a hundred reportedly “overdosed” after ingesting what’s believed to be a bad batch of the drug molly.
“Molly” is a powdered form of MDMA, the molecular compound found in ecstasy, and it’s often laced with other dangerous chemicals or simply flat-out not what it claims to be. What one may get instead is up to the provider’s creativity – and the naivete of the buyer.
The sold-out 25,000 capacity festival brought 90-plus degree heat to The Gorge, which is scarce on shade and set at a steep angle which requires physical exertion to climb between stages. For the uninitiated, ecstasy tends to put the body into overdrive, and dehydration is a risk even before adding the daunting elements of nature presented at Paradiso last weekend.
According to various reports, 72 people from the festival were taken to nearby Quincy Valley Medical Center. The single casualty is a 21-year old Des Moines man whose name has not yet been released. Sarina Fahrner, the chief nursing officer at Quincy Valley Medical Center, told news outlets there were more than 100 overdose patients. What defines an overdose may not actually be an inappropriate dosage, however, as dehydration and chemical sickness may factor in heavily.
After an intense search, 20-year old Andreano Farinas was found safe about eight miles from the venue after going missing on Saturday. The Grant County Sgt. Mike Crowder says Andreano Farinas admitted taking molly on Sunday and had a bad reaction.
As EDM culture has risen, as has the resurgence of more energizing party drugs. But as with most powder fads, as the opportunity for massive profit arises, so does the tendency to cut the drug with other chemicals. Molly has been known to have been laced with everything from talcum powder to crystal meth. The average party kid tends to have no idea whatsoever of the chemical compound they’re gulping down, relying on the casual assurances of associates that it’s the good shit.
As Seattle Weekly points out, having a DJ who calls himself “Designer Drugs” on the bill isn’t exactly a subtle hint that white-drug indulgence is a welcome item on the festival menu. But policing our band names is far from the answer. Enforced abstinence doesn’t work with sex, and it sure as hell won’t work with drugs – particularly in an atmosphere where true freedom and experimentation is celebrated so ebulliently. Information is key. An educated collective can better care for themselves and those around them.
A Facebook post by one of the relatives of the deceased festivalgoer provides another perspective: “Times like these I hate the news. My second cousin died at paradiso this weekend due the fact that he was dehydrated and on Molly he didn’t od. Yes drugs are bad and I don’t condone them but people need to be properly educated. If your going to do a drug any drug make sure there is other things in your system including food and most importantly water. The lack of H2O in his system caused a brain hemorrhage reaction that turned fatal. I just want people to know this wasn’t just some dumb kid. He had just graduated college and was on track for a high paying job a Boeing and has a large loving family. He was Not some dead beat druggie.”
Be careful out there, kids. And for music’s sake, stay hydrated.
For a deeper history of MDMA, read on from Alternet.org:
Ingmar Gorman, a doctoral candidate at the New School for Social Research, recounted the history of Molly. According to his studies, MDMA was patented by the pharmaceutical giant Merck in 1912, and despite some assumptions was not intended to be used as an appetite suppressant, but rather as a blood-clotting agent. Its earliest documented illicit use was in 1970, when it was rediscovered by the pharmacologist and chemist Alexander Shulgin. Shulgin passed MDMA pm to psychologist Leo Zeff, who passed it on to other psychologists. The substance was then used in psychotherapeutic sessions between the mid-1970s and early 1980s. It is estimated that 500,000 doses of MDMA were employed as therapy tools during this time period. MDMA was legal and unregulated until 1985, when it was classified as a Schedule 1 drug, meaning it had no medical value, high potential for abuse and was unsafe even when its use was supervised.
