The rise of the drug commonly known as “molly” continues across the nation, as teenagers are increasingly being arrested for using and selling it. In Florida on October 17th, Joseph DeSalle, who is only 18, was arrested for selling “molly” out of his house on North Betty Lane. DeSalle has also been accused of selling weapons and possessing cocaine.
The investigation into DeSalle’s narcotics trafficking began in August and concluded in mid-October with his arrest. DeSalle was found to be in possession of over 130 grams of MDMA, which was referred to commonly as “ecstasy” or “E” in the 1990s and early 2000s, but has now come to be known as “molly” when it is in a purer form. DeSalle was also found to be in possession of two grams of cocaine and a handgun with hollow-point ammunition. When authorities went to DeSalle’s duplex on North Betty Lane, they found more MDMA and a second gun, a semiautomatic, according to authorities.
Police have charged DeSalle with eight separate counts: two counts of sale and possession of MDMA, three counts of trafficking in MDMA, two charges of armed trafficking in MDMA, and one count of possession of cocaine. DeSalle could face an incredibly long time behind bars if he is convicted on all eight counts. To be sure, being caught with weapons both on his person and at his home has made the counts much more severe, although there is no indication that DeSalle was part of any violent crimes.
The rise of “molly” has been widely reported in the American media as it has become the drug of choice for young people engaged in “EDM” culture, or electronic dance music. Florida – Tampa and Miami, in particular – are hotbeds for the use of “molly” and have incredibly active dance music scenes, which may explain the drug’s prominence at the local level. Despite the alleged increase in purity that “molly” boasts relative to old-fashioned “ecstasy,” the two drugs are not considered separately by police in Florida. Instead, Tampa police broadly charge all drugs containing MDMA as simply MDMA, with no consideration for whether one is or is not purer than another.