BEYOND ESCTASY - AND SCARY

Local law enforcement officers are concerned about a drug that has
recently surfaced on the streets of Haywood County known to induce
psychotic and often violent behavior. Authorities said the drug,
officially known as #64 DOC, is a danger not only to those under its
influence, but also to the surrounding community and law enforcement
officers charged with the responsibility of ensuring the community is
safe for all.

"It's scary from our standpoint," said Det. Mark Mease, Haywood County
Sheriff's Office, "because those who take it are not only a danger to
themselves and to the community around them, but also to us. We are
responsible for protecting everyone, both those under the influence of
drugs and all others around them. We feel like this drug is such a
hazard to the community."

The psychedelic designer drug known on the street as "molly paper," is
a close cousin of Ecstasy, said Det. Brad Shirley, Canton Police
Department. The potent, long-acting psychoactive is a chemical,
similar in form to LSD, in that it is absorbed through the skin or
orally ingested on small tabs of blotter paper.

The quarter-inch tabs of paper are often decorated with images,
cartoons or other designs.

But it produces a different high, often characterized by psychotic,
violent behavior, Mease said.

Authorities suspect the drug may have been involved in certain recent
incidents involving violent subjects, but that has not been confirmed.

While executing a search warrant issued because of suspected
methamphetamines, Canton Police Department officers discovered small
tabs of blotter paper in one subject's purse and, presuming it to be
LSD, sent the substance to be analyzed by the State Bureau of
Investigations.

The result came as a surprise to local authorities who have never
before encountered the drug and know very little about it's effect or
origin, Shirley said.

"After sending it off to the SBI, we realized it was not LSD. We
thought it may be counterfeit LSD, but it ended up testing positive as
a combination of DOC and DOI in very high concentrations; an analog of
Ecstasy," he said.

Shirley said he suspects those manufacturing the drug were looking for
a way to get around the laws by changing the chemical make-up just
enough to make the substance legal. "But it is not legal," he added.

Mease said law enforcement officers are trying to learn as much as
they can about the drug. To date, no one has been willing to admit to
using "molly paper," and authorities are not certain where the
substance is being manufactured or how much it costs.

"We're not so concerned with trying to arrest the users and get them
in trouble as much as we are trying to familiarize ourselves with the
drug for the sake of public safety," he said. "It's not like smoking a
joint, laying back and getting the munchies."

Mease said while authorities have not confirmed the drug's involvement
in any particular incident, certain behaviors have been demonstrated
by individuals encountered by Waynesville and Canton police, which are
consistent with the drug's effect.

"Some people have claimed to see demons and old acquaintances who we
know are dead," he said. "Some claim they have seen these (dead
people) and or had contact with them. Some have said things like, 'I'm
going to burn in hell' and they need Jesus to come and save them. This
type of behavior leads us to believe they are on something other than
the typical drugs we see here in Haywood County ... the high is
different. That's what brought it to our attention, because those
(officers) have encountered aren't acting right or normal. The
contacts we've had have been with subjects who tend to be very
violent, far more violent behavior that we typically encounter with
drug use."

Initially the sheriff's office got a call from an informant who
suspected LSD was on the street, Mease said.

"That was our first contact with it. We got our hands on a small
amount discovered in a hidden container during a traffic stop," he
recalled. "Then, one week or so later this word 'molly paper' started
coming out and Canton seized some, which was turned over to the SBI
lab, which identified it as #64 DOC. Shortly after that incident,
Waynesville police starting having encounters with people who were
demonstrating psychotic behavior ... what ties these incidents
together is the psychotic behavior." At this point, however, the
belief that "molly paper" was involved in these incidents is purely
speculatory, Waynesville Police Chief Bill Hollingsed pointed out.

Investigations are currently under way to determine whether this drug
was used by these particular suspects.

Meanwhile, "we want to make the public aware that the drug is out
there; that we have, in fact, found it in Haywood County," he
cautioned. "We want parents to know that if they find something they
feel is suspicious among their children's' belongings, they should
contact law enforcement. We are happy to come out, take a look and
ascertain whether it is molly paper. But by all means, leave it alone.
Don't touch it with bare skin. If parents want to pick it up with
tweezers and put it in a zip loc bag and bring it to us, they may also
do that. We will be happy to look at it."