How Long Does Molly Stay In Your System?

How Long Does Molly Stay In Your System?

With Molly having become more of a popular party drug in recent years, there are more and more people experimenting with this illicit substance, and more and more people dealing with the consequences of Molly use as well.

That means that there is a need for clear information about Molly, what it does, and how long the drug can stay in your system than ever before.

Not only should you understand what Molly is if you’re considering taking the drug, but it’s also important to have information about how this drug works and what it does so you can spot other people using it, or to stay safe from being dosed with the drug unintentionally.

We’ll cover how long molly stays in your system, what the drug is and what it does, and the risks and side effects associated with using it.

What Is Molly

Molly, properly known as MDMA, and sometimes called ecstasy instead of molly, is a synthetic drug that causes significant changes to the user’s mood and perception when used.

Since molly started being used as an illicit drug it has always been popular at parties, night clubs, and raves, but more recent use has seen a surge in popularity in those areas, as well as broader use in other contexts and by other people who use drugs as well.

Generally, molly is ingested as a capsule or tablet made from the crystalline form of the drug. However, liquid forms are also available, and both the liquid and tablet forms can be added to liquids or foods and ingested that way.

Unfortunately, one of the problems with molly’s popularity is that it’s easy for sellers to pass off other drugs as molly, often other synthetic drugs, that may not have the same risks or side effects and may alter the user’s mood in a different way.

Knowing that molly is often used as a cover for selling other, often riskier, drugs is important because it can add to the risk and may leave people who use substances vulnerable to reacting in ways they don’t expect and haven’t planned for, like getting angrier instead of euphoric.

That means one of the big problems with molly is that even experienced people who use substances may not dose themselves correctly or take the right precautions to keep themselves and others safe, compounding the already present risks of abnormal behavior and addiction.

side effects and risks of molly use

Side Effects And Risks Of Molly Use

While one of the most concerning risks of using Molly is that you might receive a different drug instead of molly, that’s far from the only risk or side effect of the drug. In fact, like most illicit drugs, molly use comes with a lot of side effects and risks, and your exact risks might be different each time you use molly.

Before we get into the side effects, you should know how molly works in your body in the first place. This is important for how long molly stays in your system, and also for understanding some of the long-term side effects that can come with molly use.

Molly primarily interacts with three neurotransmitters, and their receptors, in your body and brain. Those neurotransmitters are:

    1. Serotonin, which affects mood, sleep, and appetite, and may make you feel more trusting than normal.

    1. Dopamine, which is related to your energy and activity level.

    1. Norepinephrine, which can impact your heart rate and blood pressure.

Molly temporarily increases the concentration of these three neurotransmitters in your brain but can also lead to depletion of those same neurotransmitters as the drug starts to wear off.

Side Effects

Common side effects of molly use include:

    • Euphoria

    • Increased extroversion

    • Altered senses

    • Blurry vision

    • Sweating

    • Chills

    • Loss of appetite

    • Insomnia

    • Anxiety

    • Depression

    • Agitation

    • Difficulty focusing

    • Reckless behavior

This isn’t a complete list of the possible side effects, but it should give you a good idea what someone might experience while taking molly. However, there may be more side effects than we’ve listed here, especially if you use other drugs at the same time, are on any medications that interact with the same neurotransmitters as molly, or are dehydrated, or have a condition that affects your metabolism.

Risks

In addition to the side effects that come with molly, there are quite a few potential risks. In fact, there are so many risks associated with using molly that we can’t include all of the potential risks here.

Like the list of side effects, this is an incomplete list but should help give you a better idea of what being on molly is like, what it would look like from the outside, and how to spot someone in crisis because of molly use.

How Long Does Molly Stay In Your System?

Knowing how long molly stays in your system is critical because it tells you more of what to expect if you or someone close to you uses the drug or is dosed with it. We’ll also talk about the potential long-term side effects and consequences of molly use so you can better understand how truly risky using molly can be, and why it’s important not to use this illicit drug.

How Long Does A Molly High Last?

Molly users should start to feel the effects of the drug within 20 minutes to an hour from taking the drug, and effects peak at around 2 hours after taking it. The high from molly lasts 3-6 hours on average, but that doesn’t mean that the molly has left your system just because the effects are starting to wear off.

Some people do take another dose when they notice the effects of molly wearing off, which can increase your risk significantly, especially your long-term risks. Your potential risk also increases the more often you use molly, regardless of how much of the drug you use each time.

How Long Is Molly Detectible After Use?

In drug testing, molly is relatively easy to detect. It can be found in urine for up to 4 days after using the drug, in blood or saliva tests for 1-2 days, and in hair tests for up to 3 months after using the drug.

The amount you use doesn’t really affect these times unless you have a metabolic condition or organ damage that changes how quickly your liver is able to process and eliminate the drug from your system.

Unfortunately, the long-term negative side effects of molly use can last a lot longer than the drug itself is detectable.

molly side effects

Does Molly Have Any Long-Term Side Effects?

Yes.

Like many party drugs and other illicit substances that interact with your serotonin levels and dopamine, molly use can have some serious long-term side effects, which can last weeks at a time and may become permanent with regular use.

It’s important to remember that even a single use of molly can come with these long-term side effects, and the larger the dose you take, and the more often you use molly, the more likely and more severe these long-term side effects are likely to be.

The first long-term side effect generally starts as a short-term side effect. Increasing the amount of serotonin in your system can lead to a serotonin crash after the initial rush wears off. That crash can lead to low mood, depression, anxiety, fatigue, and other negative side effects.

How long a serotonin crash lasts depends a lot on your individual body’s reaction to the drug, as well as how often you use drugs or alcohol, and whether you are pre-disposed to depression or other mental health disorders that can lower your body’s ability to produce serotonin.

When that short-term serotonin crisis turns into a long-term serotonin shortage there can be a lot of different side effects, including a stronger desire for drugs like molly that can, temporarily, correct the deficit of serotonin caused by the drugs themselves.

There is also a risk that molly can cause seizures, which can have a wide range of effects depending on the kind of seizure and how long it lasts.

Seizures are always a serious problem, but they can be much more serious when you’re taking molly because the other people around you are also likely to be intoxicated. That intoxication makes it less likely that someone around you will notice what’s happening and get medical attention for you, which means that the consequences of your seizure are likely to be much more serious than they would be with proper medical care.

Ready To Get Help For Molly Addiction?

If molly addiction and the potential long-term side effects and consequences are a concern for you, remember that there is help. You don’t have to face addiction recovery alone, and, in fact, it’s often better to have help to work with you and identify the reasons you were vulnerable to addiction in the first place.

At Psyclarity Health we believe that a full-spectrum approach to treatment, with support and a wide variety of therapies to suit your individual needs is the best way to overcome addiction. We also think that overcoming addiction doesn’t need to be difficult and that avoiding the additional stresses and traumas that can sometimes come with addiction recovery actually helps improve outcomes and make it easier to live addiction free.

We offer a wide range of support for different people and different kinds of addiction and accept most insurance plans.

If addiction recovery at Psyclarity Health sounds like a good option for you or a loved one, call us anytime. We are happy to answer questions, help you enroll in a program, or give you more information about the available programs and treatment options.

Sources:

    1. MDMA (Ecstasy/Molly) DrugFacts. National Institutes of Health. https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugfacts/mdma-ecstasymolly. Published December 19, 2022. Accessed January 2, 2023.

    1. Molly: How long does it stay in your system? Medical News Today. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/327526#drug-tests. Accessed January 2, 2023.

    1. Vandergriendt C. How long does Molly stay in your system? Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/how-long-does-molly-stay-in-your-system#metabolization-time. Published March 20, 2019. Accessed January 2, 2023.

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