After a 19-year-old suspected of having taken the drug molly at a concert died early Thursday, health officials are cautioning that the substance can be fatal.
Molly, a form of the main ingredient in the drug ecstasy, can cause an excessively high body temperature, D.C. Department of Health Director Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt said.
"Some people think that just means you just deal with it by taking off your clothes and dancing and having a good time," she said.
But hyperthermia can damage the heart, liver and kidneys.
"Those effects can be cumulative over time, adding up over time, or they can occur in just one night and result in death," Nesbitt said, comparing use of the drug to playing Russian roulette.
Victoria Callahan, whose 19th birthday was Wednesday, was attending a concert at Echostage in Northeast D.C. when she complained of feeling sick about 12:15 a.m. Thursday, police said.
Callahan, of Sterling, was under the influence of molly, according to a police report. She was taken from the performance of the Australian DJ Flume to MedStar Washington Hospital Center, where she died early Thursday morning, according to a MedStar representative.
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Callahan was a sophomore marine science major at Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina. She graduated from Potomac Falls High School in Loudoun County, where she was vice president of her senior class.
Police investigated in September 2013 whether a 19-year-old University of Virginia student who collapsed and died at EchoStage had taken molly, as News4 reported.
