Wesleyan Students Hospitalized After 'Bad Batch' of Molly | Rolling Stone
Ten Wesleyan University students and two visitors were hospitalized after a "bad batch" of the party drug Molly swept through the campus this weekend. Michael Roth, president of the Middletown, Connecticut college, wrote in a letter to students that a dozen people suffered "complications arising from the use of a version of the drug Molly, a refined and more powerful form of Ecstasy (MDMA)." According to ABC News, of the four people still hospitalized, two remain in serious condition and two in critical condition following their overdoses.
"If you are aware of people distributing these substances, please let someone know before more people are hurt," Roth wrote. "These drugs can be altered in ways that make them all the more toxic. Take a stand to protect your fellow students."
Middletown police chief William McKenna confirmed that they were pursuing information about a "bad batch" of the drug. "Our first and foremost goal is to obtain information on the batch of Molly that was distributed to the students on the campus. This information is critical in ensuring the recovery of those students affected," McKenna said.
"I don't understand why so many people were doing Molly that night, at one time," Wesleyan freshman Rielly Wieners told the Hartford Courant. "There's a lot of alcohol; there's a lot of weed on campus. I'm not necessarily in contact with anything harder than that." While Wesleyan declined to go into detail about the incident, the university confirmed to ABC News that an on-campus rave held at the school's Eclectic Society was part of the investigation.
MDMA use has long been associated with EDM culture, but the synthetic compound went from niche drug to national scourge after the fatal overdoses of two college students forced the cancellation of New York's Electric Zoo Festival in 2013. The fest returned the following year with added health measures as well as requiring attendees to watch an anti-drug video.