ORLANDO, Fla. — People living in Pine Hills have huge concerns with a synthetic drug called “molly", saying it and other drugs are leading to continued crime in the community.
- Overall crime is down in Pine Hills
- Residents say club drug molly a growing concern
- Sheriff's office says they are focusing on more dangerous drugs
Neighbors reached out to Spectrum News 13, and we brought this to the Orange County Sheriff’s office to see if there is evidence to back up those claims.
According to the Orange County Sheriff's Office, crime is down in Pine Hills. The housing market is on an upswing and overall community growth is at an all-time high.
But if you talk to Pine Hills native Jacqueline James, “Drugs are a major problem.”
She’ll tell you there is at least one old habit many in her community cannot kick.
"We are Pine Hills, the beautiful community that is growing rapidly, but also the drugs is an epidemic,” James said.
Jacqueline, known affectionately as “Big Mama”, grew up in the West Orlando suburb.
She says while drugs have always been a problem in the area, molly, which is otherwise knwon as MDMA or ecstasy, is emerging on the streets, and the primary users are teens and young adults.
“It is bad, and it is seriously bad because you can see them walking and you will think they are normal talking to you or talking on the phone, and all of sudden they will burst out and do something outrageous and it is harmful, it is killing them,” James said.
Even Orlando Commissioner Regina Hill agrees, saying something needs to be done.
“We need to start treating this molly addiction like we are now starting to focus on the opioid addictions of some of the young, suburban kids,” Hill said.
“These are drugs that are made in laboratory, they are synthetic, they tend to be stimulant and hallucinogenic," said Dr. Candice Jones, a pediatrician whose office is in Pine Hills.
Jones says her office has not seen an increase in youth using molly, but rather marijuana. Still, she says parents need to be vigilant.
“Kids can die and have serious health concerns with using these medications,” Jones said.
While there are concerns from people living in Pine Hills about molly, the sheriff’s office says they haven’t seen the evidence to back it up. Meanwhile, they say they’re focusing on combating drugs that prove to be problematic.
“We want to focus on more dangerous drugs such as heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, prescription pills,” Deputy Christian Marrero said.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, in 2017 and 2018 in Pine Hills, there were nine juvenile drug arrests and 10 heroin overdoses. By comparison there was only one Molly overdose.
“It is something that we take very seriously. Sheriff Mina has said that the dangerous drug problem in Orange County will be combatted to the best of our abilities, which is why we have all of these specialty units who are focused on dangerous drugs,” Marrero said.
Jacqueline James wants the focus shifted to getting “molly” off the streets and out of hands of young adults before it's too late.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office encourages people to reach out and share any community concerns with them.