Mephedrone the new ‘party drug’ also known as meph, m-cat, meow meow, bubbles and white magic has now become illegal and classified B. The newly abused substance is marketed as plant food and comes in powder form, usually in a white or yellowish colour. It is usually snorted or ‘bombed’- meaning it is wrapped up in paper and taken like a tablet. The effects of the drug are said to be similar of those of experienced by ecstasy users, euphoria being a common feeling. Although it is often being confused with ‘methadone’ (the drug that is used to treat heroin addicts) the drug is still highly addictive.
Mephedrone has been featured heavily in the news, with rows over the ban and the classification as well as reports of deaths from abuse of the drug. Alan Johnson takes a hard approach on the matter vowing to “ban these dangerous drugs from our streets”. The rows over the delegalisation of the drug resulted in Professor Les King, the chairman of investigating legal highs resignating from his position. He felt the media pressure was too much and was affecting the decisions being made.
Said to be 'harsh on the nostrils
Several young people in the UK have been linked to deaths from taking the popular drug, in total it is suspected that 18 deaths in England are linked to mephedrone. However, there is no conclusive scientific proof that the deaths were caused by just mephedrone.
“I was so close to becoming dependant on it”
After an article in Bournemouth University’s student paper The Wire had been written about sellers of the drug in proximity to the halls of residence. I spoke to an ex-user of methedrone who requested to remain anonymous. “I can understand how people can become addicted to mephedrone, it’s hard to explain, it’s a feeling you can’t compare to anything else”. The insider spoke of the nights they had on it out in clubs and the experiences. “It’s ideal to take in that environment because you just want to dance and talk to everyone”. When asked the reason for not taking it anymore, the response was “It came to a point where I realised the up wasn’t worth the down. It had wasted a lot of my money and I was so close to beoming dependant on it. I would never want that to happen, ever”
Since reports of deaths have surfaced, there has been a decline in the usage of mephedrone. But the real question is, will the delegalisation of it really stop people from taking it?
ZarasBlogCentral 