New York Senator Proposes Law Aimed at “Molly” and Other Synthetic Drugs

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer of New York has introduced a new bill aimed at “Molly” and similar synthetic drugs, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The Protecting Our Youth from Dangerous Synthetic Drugs Act of 2013 would allow the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to ban substances that were similar in composition and effect to the 26 synthetic drugs already outlawed.

In a press conference Sunday, Senator Schumer said Molly is becoming increasingly common and dangerous. Molly is suspected of causing two deaths this summer at a New York City music festival. The drug, a more pure form of Ecstasy, comes in a powder. It has been available for decades, but has become more popular recently with college students. Molly’s health risks can include involuntary teeth clenching, a loss of inhibitions, transfixion on sights and sounds, nausea, blurred vision and chills and/or sweating. More serious risks of the drug, also called MDMA, can include increased heart rate and blood pressure and seizures.

Senator Schumer said drug producers make small tweaks to the chemical composition of banned drugs, in order to get around the law. His proposal would ban the new variations as well. He said it would apply to all synthetic drugs, “but Molly needs it in particular.”

He noted, “We need to give our DEA and FDA greater power to ban the counterfeit analogue drugs just like they banned the regular drugs. This will be applied to any tweaking of a banned drug that makes the drug either worse or the same in terms of its effects.”