It’s been glamorized in pop music and in dance clubs for years now. But who – or what – is Molly?

To understand Molly’s place in the ecosystem of today’s illegal drugs, we have to go back just over a century. Major pharmaceutical firm Merck was attempting to create a compound that could be used to control bleeding; one of the chemicals created as a part of this process was 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine, which Merck received a patent for in 1914 and then proceeded to do nothing with for the next decade. Experimentation with the compound, which was referred to in shorthand as methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) was based on the fact that as an amphetamine, it showed numerous stimulant effects when used on animals.

On average, four out of every ten tabs of Molly sold in the past fifteen years have actually contained no MDMA at all, and two out of every ten contain MDMA supplemented with some other chemical, leaving about only 30% of the overall supply consisting of pure MDMA. Yet now, even with the growing risk of adulterated or falsely advertised Molly, the drug has become more popular than ever. So most people taking Molly really have no idea what their pills or powders are made up of, and that can lead to serious problems. To read more about Molly’s evolution and impact, as well as how to treat abuse, download our free eBook now.