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After reports earlier this month regarding the alleged Molly”-induced deaths of a pair of Electric Zoo attendees, investigators suspect a knockoff version of the drug may have been the culprit. Authorities are now looking to determine if a bath salts-related substance was responsible for the overdoses.

The New York Post reported on the sudden rise of dealers selling the chemical methylone, and passing the dangerous narcotic off as current drug craze, “Molly.” Users of “Molly” say that, unlike “ecstasy” pills, the drug is a purer form of MDMA. Investigators say that is not always the case and many are being duped.

“Kids think ‘Molly’ is a pure, safe ecstasy, but it’s not,” said DEA Special Agent Erin Mulvey. “It’s not pure, it’s not safe and it’s not even ecstasy.”

Ingesting of bath salts and related drugs has proven to be damaging to the body and also fatal. A 20-year-old Staten Island man used methylone at a rave party back in June, suffering an agonizing death later that his grandmother had the misfortune of witnessing while sitting at his hospital bed.

That case has led the DEA and others to await toxicology reports from the bodies of Syracuse University graduate Jeffrey Russ, 23, and University of New Hampshire student Olivia Rotondo, 20, who both attended the Randall’s Island Electric Zoo festival and died later. Officials are looking for a link between the the deaths and if it is related to the bath salt drug.

Bath salts are criminally banned across New York State, although methylone is not while still being classified as a drug. As reported by Gothamist, testing kits are being made available to users to determine the authenticity of the drugs they’re buying.

Of course just saying no to drugs would be a much better plan, but what do we know?

Photos: DEA, Facebook