When Ecstasy banished the party scene a decade ago, party-goers found a replacement in the form of “Molly.”

Molly is a powdered form of MDMA (3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine). The possession of MDMA in various countries under the United Nations provision is considered a criminal offense and subject for imprisonment. It is the powdered version of Ecstasy, a party pill prominent during the late 1980s and early 90s until the U.S government listed it as “Schedule I” drug—no medical value and highly addictive. However, Molly on its pure powder form is said to be even stronger than Ecstasy.

Molly has been on the hot seat for the past few weeks after incidences of overdose were reported in students attending parties. One died in a Zedd concert at House of Blues in Boston followed by a sophomore student from the University of Virginia in a nightclub. Other students were from Syracuse University and the University of New Hampshire. Four more were under critical observation in the hospitals, doctors suspect that they may have overdosed in Molly at an Electronic Zoo concert.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg canceled the concerts and festivals because of the growing number of drug Molly overdose.

Rusty Payne, a spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), reported that the use of molly has been overwhelming over the past few years. More people buy it because it was marketed to be safer than ecstasy and other drugs yet provides the same effects.

Molly as an MDMA affects both the brain and the body. Some of its mental and psychological effects include euphoria, reduced stress and anxiety, increased sociability and closeness to others, and increased music appreciation which makes it a favorite of party-goers. It may make the users feel good inside but it actually has negative effects on the body, it pumps up the heart rate and blood pressure, increases the body temperature, dilutes the pupil, causes insomnia, and results to jaw clenching and teeth grinding.

So how widely used Molly is? According to the Good Drugs Guide, one dies in every million that use MDMA. That means we are looking at over five million users in U.S alone. The number is still lower than the U.K which has seven for every million but still sounds really disturbing.