Have you met "Molly?" She's a hit at the clubs

[Lucinda F. Boyd]

TAMPA (FOX 13) -
Have you met "Molly?" She's a hit at the clubs, and she's popular on the concert scene -- but this is no cute girl.

"Molly" is a drug, and moms and dads should know about it because chances are, your kids already do.

If you hear your teens say they're hanging out with "Molly," or you see it pop up on a Facebook posting, that's a red flag.

Molly started in the underground rave scene, but now is wildly popular with more mainstream teenagers and college kids. They take it at clubs and concerts.

It is a dangerous drug hiding behind a friendly name.

"You could think somebody is talking about a friend or family member when they are talking about a drug," said Natalie Holmes.

"Molly" is also the star of lots of hit songs, even getting a shout out from Madonna at a festival in Miami a few months ago.

She asked the crowd, "Have you met Molly?"

Holmes said it's perfect as a code word.

"It can be a good thing if you're the one using it because it's very discreet. 'Oh yeah, hanging out with Molly tonight, want to see Molly,'" Holmes said.

Molly is short for molecule. It comes as a capsule or powder. Many dealers describe it as pure MDMA. And that pure reputation isn't exactly true.

"It's a synthetic derivative of MDMA, ecstasy," said Major Thomas Feeney of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Special Investigations division.

Natalie Holmes say she took it every day for four months.

"I really liked it because it was very much like ecstasy. It gave you that euphoric feeling. It was a lot cheaper. It was a lot easier to find," she said.

Hanging out with Molly wasn't that difficult at $20 a pill or $100 a gram. It put Holmes in to six rehabs in four years.

"I used to just take it and sit at home with my friends and listen to music, watch TV, whatever. I think it's definitely pretty prevalent if it hasn't gotten worse since I was using it," she said.

"It's a wave that's traveling throughout the country, and it's something that we have to be on the watch for in Hillsborough County," Feeney said.

The effects of this drug last three to four hours. It has no smell, but has symptoms.

"Clenching the teeth, increased blood pressure. Increased heart rate. Severe dehydration and hyperthermia, which is a dramatic increase in your core body temperature, which ultimately results in your organs being cooked from inside out," Feeney explained.

Holmes finally went her separate ways from Molly. She just graduated from DACCO's residential treatment facility. It's a fresh start after years of addiction.

"It's never too late to turn your life around and do the right thing," she said.

Now is your chance to get the word out about these deceptive nicknames.

Visit the MyFoxTampaBay Facebook page or tweet with the hash tag "#MeetMolly" and share our story with others.

It's time to get the word out about the dangers of Molly.

And here are some other code words:

Roxycodone: roxys, blues, bluebirds, blueberries, blue tshirts
Ecstasy: rolls, beans, loves
Marijuana: bud, kush, chronic
Cocaine: Aunt Nora, coastal, dream

[Lucinda F. Boyd]