A semester-long project by S.I. Newhouse students has resulted in an online resource “by students, for students” that targets use, affects, and dangers of the drug commonly called “Molly.”
The recreational drug, legal in New York State, is also called MDMA, or methylenedioxymethamphetamine, and is the main ingredient found in ecstasy. Users ingest the drug as a tablet or capsule, and produces feelings of increased energy, euphoria, emotional warmth, and distortions in time, perception, and tactile experiences, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
“When the students first started on this project, they were a bit discouraged because so little was known about the drug,” said Professor Emilie Davis, whose students created the web-based resource for her Advanced Editing course.
But graduate students Shawn Arrajj, Marissa Bholan and Andrew Petrie, senior Bethany Bump and junior Jason Krakower persevered to develop a go-to source online for answers about the dangers of “Molly.”
The project can be found at mollydrug.net , and on Facebook and Twitter, username @MollyDrug.
Molly by the numbers
For the “All About Molly” project, students conducted a nonscientific survey of their peers and found some interesting results:
390 SU students participated in the nonscientific survey.
The input of 320 students, who provided their year and major, was analyzed.
50.6% of students (162 students) are aware of Molly
30.2% (49 students) said they know its effects.
That means more than two-thirds who have heard of Molly have no idea what it does.
20.4% of students (33 students) said they have tried Molly.
Of those, 30.3% (10 students) said they do not know the drug’s ingredients.
That means about one-third who have tried Molly have no idea what they ingested.
