A new party drug appears to be seeping into Marin, similar to ecstasy but more potent and less widely understood, county investigators said.

The street name is "molly," which some sources describe as a purer form of ecstasy, and others describe as different substances that mimic ecstasy. The name molly is said to mean "molecule" or "molecular" - as in a molecular variation of ecstasy.

Until about a year ago, the Marin County Major Crimes Task Force, the county's narcotics squad, had never encountered molly during its undercover operations. Since then, the unit has seized molly seven times and arrested six people suspected of selling it, according to sheriff's Sgt. Bruce Baker.

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