What economics teaches us about drugs- Edmund Conway

In all the coverage in the papers about mephedrone – the new as-yet-legal drug also known as meow meow and connected with the death of a number of unfortunate young people recently – there has been little focus on the economics. Which probably ought not to be a surprise, since this is an emotive issue. But economics helps explain why drugs like mephedrone have gained popularity in the past year or so: quite simply – because they are so cheap.

The average cost of a gram of cocaine in the UK, according to DrugScope, the independent experts on these things, was £39. The price for a gram of mephedrone is closer to a tenner. A gram of ketamine costs half as much as the cocaine, and when you bear in mind that, according to analysis by the Forensic Science Service the average purity of cocaine these days is 26.4pc, compared with 45pc only five years ago (and 63pc in 1984), the value comparison is pretty stark.

Even in the illicit world of drugs (or not so illicit, yet, in the case of mephedrone), price still matters. We know from statistics that the proportion of 16-24 year olds who indulge in these kind of things has been pretty steady (at around 10pc) for some years. So let’s not panic about that. What’s changed is the kind of things they tend to consume: consumption of cheaper drugs like ketamine and mephedrone has leapt in the past couple of years.

Another often-unremarked dynamic is availability: mephedrone has similar effects to ecstasy tablets. So it is probably no coincidence that mephedrone’s rise in popularity has coincided with an a sudden and unprecedented shortage in ecstasy in the UK, something which is linked to the seizure of 33 tonnes of sassafras oil (one of the main ingredients of ecstasy) in Cambodia in June 2008.

With youth unemployment running at the highest level for over a decade, and Britain still stuck in the jaws of recession, I would be shocked if youngsters hadn’t become more price conscious – including about drugs. Now, a separate issue is that mephedrone is clearly too easy to get hold of – something which will not be the case after its almost inevitable ban. But, as I say above, this isn’t the obstacle many people assume it is. The evidence suggests that there is a certain small proportion of people who will want to take drugs even if they are illegal, and whether something is or isn’t illicit won’t change this. Over time we can and should try to reduce this through rehabilitation and education (drugs are anti-social and psychologically and physically degrading at best, potentially fatal at worst), but experience shows that simply making things illegal is not the silver bullet so many seem to think. On the contrary. Price dynamics, on the other hand, do seem to change peoples’ behaviour.

And here the evidence for mephadrone is not encouraging. Since Ketamine was made a class C drug in 2006, its price has actually fallen from £28 a gram to £20. This almost certainly suggests that drug dealers are cutting costs by mixing it with God knows what else. The same will almost certainly happen with mephadrone if it is outlawed: it will become more difficult to get hold of (but that won’t matter for the vast, vast majority of those who want to try it), the price will fall, and so will the purity, making it more dangerous.

Finally, distressing and upsetting as it is to hear of young people dying on what are supposed to be nights of celebration and fun, let’s not forget that alcohol is a far more dangerous drug, killing far more people. What makes mephedrone different is that many of the kids taking it do not know the dangers. The lesson surely ought to be to warn people of these risks and make it more difficult to get hold of, rather than shoving it blindly into the criminal world, where it will become far more dangerous?

<Admin Wrote>: This is a great article with some well balanced views and infomation. Im also going to publish some of the comments for all to see.

Comments:

this article is a rare piece of common sense in a debate normally dominated by furious calls to send all evil drug users to prison.

i have bought mephedrone a few times over the past year or so as a cheaper, less cut up alternative to ecstasy.

i also prefer that the money goes to a tax paying business instead of a criminal enterprise.

obviously an age limit should be imposed but i see this as a more acceptable status quo.

this will never happen as any change of approach would be stopped by tabloids whipping the population into a moral frenzy

the government will carry on letting murders and pedophiles out of overcrowded jails early to fit in more otherwise law abiding citizens while allowing people to drink too much and puke in public with impunity.
mw203 on Mar 23rd, 2010 at 8:36 pm
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I was wondering when an Economist would throw a spreadsheet into the mix.

I’m undecided if I should follow my Libertarian principles and advocate a general decriminalizing of banned substances, or if there’s a reasonable argument to say that legalizing increases a society’s useage, so the trade should be banned.

Naturally, there’s a huge argument about tax, safety of the end product, the loss of revenue for criminals, money saved on policing to be mixed with the UK becoming a transport and production hub, the loss of pub trade and the danger that permissiveness brings as evidenced in any town centre on a Saturday night.

But what do the numbers say?
Jamie E on Mar 23rd, 2010 at 9:37 pm
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Whats the bloody point….

Alcohol most dangerous drug, I see dead drunks stagger out into blizzards to smoke fags……ergo……

Why not make the laws against violent conduct at least as stringent as those for smoking in doors…..you might find that, that most evil drug will all of a sudden stop being dangerous over night…????

But don’t hold your breath, Perverts of the like that can be found in the Scottish Parliament….would have very little to do if they actually got the useless plonkers in the courts and the police stations to do what they are paid to.

Most dangerous drug my arse.
Crouchback on Mar 23rd, 2010 at 10:34 pm
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There cannot be a “free” market generally but not in, among other things, drugs, so there must not be a “free” market generally. You can be a capitalist or a conservative, but not both.

Of course mephedrone should be made illegal. Within a single class of illegal drug, and accompanied a crackdown on the possession of drugs, including a mandatory sentence of three months for a second offence, six months for a third offence, one year for a fourth offence, and so on.

All within a context in which each offence, of whatever kind, carries a minimum sentence of one third of its maximum sentence, or of 15 years for life.
David Lindsay on Mar 23rd, 2010 at 10:49 pm
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” What makes mephedrone different [from alcohol] is that many of the kids taking it do not know the dangers.”

Alcohol also differs from many other drugs that its effect can be controlled directly by the user: you can implement your own control system, responding to the feedback from your senses. You can stop drinking, or at least slow your pace. Young people suffer more from alcohol than their elders partly because of youthful enthusiasm but also because they haven’t tuned their control system. Most people learn, to a greater or lesser degree. (The underlying effects on liver, kidney, brain and heart are another matter.)

By contrast, some other drugs are apparently sufficiently potent and fast-acting that there isn’t enough scope to tune the dose. Perhaps it’s impossible.

People do die from alcohol poisoning, but most people would need to drink rather a lot relatively quickly to get to that state (and even then there are warning signs and defence mechanisms in the body).
chforsyth on Mar 23rd, 2010 at 11:18 pm
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Fascinating.

“Now, a separate issue is that mephedrone is clearly too easy to get hold of – something which will not be the case after its almost inevitable ban.”

On the other hand however,

“Since Ketamine was made a class C drug in 2006, its price has actually fallen from £28 a gram to £20.”

So when ketamine was made illegal, by your logic Edmund it should have been harder to get hold of, which, according to my understanding of economics, should have made it dearer, but in fact it is now cheaper.

I see….
Catweazle on Mar 24th, 2010 at 12:01 am
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Surely economic theory can be applied wherever behaviour is expressed through transactions. It wouldn’t be much use if it can’t. Current drugs policy ignores eonomics and draws its authority from political theory. It is in essence politics with a big P whose benefits are dubious to say the least.

There are so many vested political interests in current drugs policy that serious debate about decriminalisation suffers under the weight of pointlessness. Many voices express vehement opposition to decriminalisation largely by making the moral case for the status quo, but rarely backed up by a rational position. The rational position seems to me to clearly point to a drugs policy the embraces decriminalisation as its starting point.

I don’t suggest drugs are not a potential menace, as indeed alcohol can be or for that matter any excessive consumption or behaviour. However, what is needed is a clear and open debate that focuses on the cost of current drug policy (i.e. the cost to society of our moral stance that criminalises illicit drug production, trade and consumption) compared to the costs of decriminalisation (an alternative moral position focusing on regulation). If economic theory can be useful here, then it should applied to help get to the core of this debate and in so doing, give it some bite.
Cosimo on Mar 24th, 2010 at 12:25 am
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Catweazle,

The presumption that the price would rise is made on the basis that the quality of the product remains constant, and supply is restricted. The fact that the price of a ‘gram’ of ‘ketamine’ has actually fallen from £28 to £20 is even more concerning, since it implies that the quality of the product has fallen even further than one might have anticipated. The fear is that mephadone would do the same if outlawed.
march25 on Mar 24th, 2010 at 12:33 am
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I think decriminalisation should be tried. What we’ve been doing so far doesn’t seem to have worked very well, does it?

If you decrim drugs, then you start to cut out the gang control (by bringing the drugs supply into the legitimate business sphere); you get the opportunity to tax them; quality probably increases – or at least is easier for the user to judge (trusted brands anyone? cf Nurofen vs own brand ibuprofen); and you reduce the risk that cr*p is used to “cut” the product (which as I understand it means make it go further or reduce it to manageable strength) because you can track down the production organisation just like any other food & drugs business (and competition should help the suppliers of purer/safer gear to increase market share vs the rogues who will always be around).

Now, the arguments against that I can see are that at least initially the existing criminal suppliers get an effective amnesty and cash reward for their past sins; and that the country risks becoming a supply hub for elsewhere (although what’s the Netherlands experience?) unless they follow suit. But if the IRA can become the good guys, who’s to say the drug dealers couldn’t?

And like I said, we’ve not had too much success so far…
tanker21 on Mar 24th, 2010 at 12:58 am
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what never seems to be discussed in relation to the use of hard dugs is the fact that all these substances become airborne and are a public health hazard. When are we going to stop discussing what is good or bad for these users and start monitoring what these drugs are doing to our air quality. If passive cigarette smoking is detrimental to health then surely the chemical soup of crack cocaine and amphetomines in our atmosphere is far more toxic and harmful. Time this was brought to the public’s attention.

“Ban! Imprison! Ignore!”

“Ban! Imprison! Ignore!”
by Alasdair Sladen

“We know best” seems to be the raison d’être of our current government. Alcohol? Instead of attempting to change social attitudes, let the taps flow with 24-hour drinking. Drugs? Ignore the actual scientific evidence given by our advisors and fire them if they disagree too loudly. The fallout from the sacking of Professor David Nutt as chair of the Advisory Council of the Misuse of Drugs after he stated that ecstasy was less dangerous than horse riding has reignited the questioning of the government’s logic in its drug policy.

As with all government policy, drug policy should be sound and evidence-based, not dictated to by the hysterical masses, drug policy should lead the way and be brave. We need to wake up and admit that drug-users aren’t all crazed deviants, knifing old ladies for their next fix; a large portion of this country happily and safely take drugs recreationally. It shouldn’t be a taboo to say so, but it is: nice people take drugs.

In 1995, Rachel Betts, a middle class schoolgirl died after an apparent overdose of ecstasy. The popular press seized upon this story, resulting in a huge campaign of billboards and videos shown in schools proclaiming; “Sorted: Just one ecstasy tablet took Leah Betts”. It was later discovered during the coroner’s inquiry that Leah did not die as a result of ecstasy consumption, but rather the result of the large quantity of water she had consumed, following advice given to ravers to drink water to avoid dehydration. Leah, in reality no stranger to taking ecstasy, following this misinformation consumed around seven litres of water in less than 90 minutes, resulting in water intoxication, leading to severe swelling of the brain, causing her death. During this inquest, Professor John Henry, who had previously warned the public of the danger of ecstasy causing death by dehydration changed his tune, stating that “If Leah had taken the drug alone she might well have survived.”

You’d think that in a response to this that the government would have acted practically by providing accurate information to would-be drug users as to avoid tragedies such as these, but 15 years later this still isn’t the case. The Government’s source of drug information, the Talk to Frank website instead gives ineffectual information, amounting to nothing more than what you would except from a PSHE lesson aged 13. Horror stories, intended to spook potential users and information ignoring real-life situations amount to nothing more than a lecture. Arrests of drug-users have increased since the website was launched, proving that the whole campaign has been a farce. By refusing to provide practical and helpful information, the government is effectively denying that actual drug-users exist and is not committed to harm reduction. Hospitalisation due to drug-related incidents needlessly costs the NHS millions a year – accepting that people do take drugs and providing practical information could prevent this from happening in the first place.

The media, who might have thought would now be putting pressure on the government to adapt towards an evidence-based drug policy, is instead baying “Ban! Imprison! Ignore!” at every available opportunity. Last year, 14-year-old Gabrielle Price died after a party and before the coroners report had even been published, the tabloids proclaimed that that she “died after taking a suspected drug cocktail including mephedrone.” Ultimately the coroner reported that she suffered a cardiac arrest following broncho-pneumonia, which resulted from a streptococcal infection, nothing at all to do with her taking the mephedrone – something the media chose to ignore. Instead campaigns to ban mephedrone are now in full swing, ignoring the glamour amongst young people of taking something illicit. If mephedrone is indeed made illegal in the future, I can only predict an increase in its use, with no sensible advice in place for those who take it.

As individuals, we have a choice: To be spoon-fed spin by the government and mainstream media or to effect change ourselves. The recently released British Social Attitudes Survey revealed that 58 per cent of people currently believe that cannabis should remain illegal, a 12 per cent increase from 2001. This, I believe is down to the increase in media aggression to drug-related issues. However, with Professor Nutt having created the Independent Scientific Council for Drug Harms (ISCDH) in January, free from political interference, there is a real chance for the tide to begin to turn, for reason and science to take precedence over misinformed social prejudice. Organisations such as Release, Transform and Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) intend to work with the ISCDH so that together we can begin to influence the wider public and push for an evidence-based government drug policy in the interests of harm reduction.

At this Wednesday’s General Meeting (1.30pm) a motion is being put forward which calls for our Union to establish a harm reductionist approach to drugs: stocking ecstasy testing kits in our union, enforcing a ‘Good Samaritan’ policy for halls so that people can call emergency services in overdose situations without fear of eviction and expulsion and obliging our Campaigns Officer to campaign on drug policy – please come and vote.

KEY POINTS on Mephedrone:

What is it?
Mephedrone is a synthetic stimulant with similar effects to Ecstasy/MDMA, and/or amphetamines/cocaine.

How available is it?
Mephedrone can be bought on the internet from websites advertising the product as ‘plant feeder’ or ‘not for human consumption’ to avoid prosecution. For E.g.

Is it legal?
Mephedrone is not currently controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, so is therefore not illegal to possess (the Government is waiting for advice before reviewing this situation). However, the police will treat any powder or capsule they find on someone as a suspected Class A drug and it will be seized and sent for testing. Also, although Meow itself is currently legal, if the police find it has been mixed/cut with an illegal drug they may prosecute.

Is it safe? No drug is 100% safe to use.
However, as Mephedrone has never been tested on humans we have no idea what its long-term physical or mental effects may be. This unknown quantity proves a considerable risk with these new synthetic stimulants, as current users are also the only test subjects for the drug and we are reliant on their accounts as the only source of information.

User accounts report a wide-ranging list of side effects, including heart palpitations, vomiting, blood circulation problems, seizures and joint/spinal aches for several days after use.

As the intended side effects from Mephedrone only last briefly, users report a strong urge to re-dose with increasing quantities. Heavy and compulsive use seems to increase the range and severity of side effects experienced by users.

Users have also reported severe comedowns after using Mephedrone which have been very traumatic and lasted 3-4 days.

Risk reduction:
Avoid mixing with other drugs (including Alcohol) as this increases the chance of unpredictable and dangerous side effects. Mephedrone is often mixed with Ketamine, which can raise blood pressure dangerously high, and should particularly be avoided.

Limit how much Mephedrone you have available beforehand; remember, there will be a strong urge to re-dose and heavy and compulsive use increases the risks of severe side effects.

Make sure you are in a place you know and feel safe in.

Make sure you are with people you know and trust and let them know what you are taking.

Given the accounts of long and traumatic comedowns, please keep an eye on friends and housemates, both during and after taking Mephedrone.

All drug experiences are affected by the way you are feeling at the time. So try not to use drugs if you are feeling ill, depressed or anxious- it could make you feel much worse.

Legal high warning after ‘bubbles’ drug death

Legal high warning after ‘bubbles’ drug death

Mephedrone is also known as “bubbles” or “meow meow”

Police have issued a warning about the use of “legal highs” following the death of a woman in Dunfermline, Fife.

The 49-year-old is thought to have died after taking mephedrone, also known as “bubbles” or “meow meow”. The substance is often advertised as plant food.

A number of people also became ill in Methil after taking the substance known locally as “white magic”.

Police said legal highs such as solvents and plant food were dangerous because their effects were unknown.

The ambulance service was called to a house in Dunfermline on Saturday where a woman had collapsed after ingesting mephedrone.

She died a short time later in the town’s Queen Margaret Hospital.

In the Methil incident, one woman was taken to hospital as a precaution.

Risk of death

Ch Supt Alistair McKeen of Fife Police said: “Potential users of ‘legal highs’ need to be aware of the dangers associated with these substances, a number of which have industrial uses as solvents or even plant foods.

“There is very little scientific evidence about these substances and the effects are often unpredictable.

“Combining legal highs with other substances such as alcohol increases the risks and there is a very real risk of death.”

He advised people not to rely on the experience of users or sellers, and said the only sure way of being safe was not to experiment with these chemicals.

It is not illegal to buy mephedrone, although it is intended for use in plant food, not for human consumption.

But the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs is reviewing mephedrone as a priority and is expected to decide later this year whether or not the law should be changed.

Mephedrone is already illegal in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Israel, and is a controlled drug in Germany.

Call for mephedrone to be illegal..

Call for mephedrone to be illegal
Published online at 27/01/2010 18:31:08

Police have called for mephedrone to be made illegal, it’s been revealed.

In a written answer to a question in the House of Keys this week, Home Affairs Minister Adrian Earnshaw confirmed police wrote to his department late last year.

He says the Chief Constable wrote a letter and the Deputy Chief Constable sent an email last November asking for legislation to outlaw the legal high.

North Douglas MHK John Houghton put the question to Mr Earnshaw in Tuesday’s sitting, along with two other questions about the drug and the problems it’s causing.

Mr Houghton asked Health Minister Eddie Teare how many people the hospital has seen suffering the effects of mephedrone and how much it’s cost the NHS.

Mr Teare said nine people have been treated in the last month who were thought to have taken the drug, at a cost of around £5,500.

And in a second question to Home Affairs Minister Adrian Earnshaw, Mr Houghton asked how many people have been arrested for crimes whilst under the influence of mephedrone.

Mr Earnshaw said 43 people were arrested and one was charged with driving under the influence of the drug.

A group of students are sitting in a lounge…

The danger behind legal highs

January 26, 2010

Original aticle here

A group of students are sitting in a lounge, discussing their upcoming social schedule. “Nick’s been working overtime specifically to buy mephedrone,” says Tom, a 20 year-old English Literature student. “He says as soon as exams are over, he’s going to stick his nose in the bag and just go for it.” Everyone in the room laughs, and nobody seems unfamiliar with a substance that was unavailable just over a year ago.

Mephedrone is mostly compared to cocaine or MDMA, but is never quite described as being exactly the same as either of them. The effects are shorter in duration than both and not incompatible with drinking alcohol. Whilst it is available in liquid form, most users report snorting it in a powdered form, perhaps consuming orally occasionally.

“I first used mephedrone in October. A friend from London had bought some and was raving about it, so I decided to take the plunge,” says Rob, a 20 year old Politics and History student who shows me a small bag of it. “Since then I’ve done it probably five or six times, and every time it’s been well worth it. I know what happens when you overindulge in anything, and mephedrone is very moreish. Once you start you just want to use it all, so I don’t take more than a gram out with me. Plus if I use too much, my wallet stinks. It has a distinctive smell. I’m not sure what of, but it smells.”

Legal highs are in no way a new thing to Britain. Some drugs, such as salvia, have been available legally for years, whereas magic mushrooms for a long time have existed in legal limbo. Their mere possession was for a long time not a crime, providing that the person with them had not prepared them for consumption. Previously available in hundreds of shops across Britain, they were made illegal to possess in 2005, and their status as a Class A drug was instead enforced.

Mephedrone today stands in a comparable situation. While dramatically easier to consume and boasting a different array of experiences than mushrooms, the substance remains in a legally grey zone that does not expressly forbid sale in certain circumstances. Currently, the drug may not be sold for human consumption. Those looking to exploit the high demand choose to market it as plant food or for “research purposes”, whatever those may be.

Due to ease of access, it has exploded in popularity, and is now widely available in most student party environments across the country. “I don’t even really like drinking, the feeling of being drunk or the cheap club drinks themselves. So mephedrone was definitely a big thing for me. It means I can go out with my friends and not feel like I’m having a totally horrendous time,” says Tom. “I wouldn’t use it every day or anything like that though, just once or twice a week, if I am going to go out and depending where I’m going.”

He explains just how simple it is to acquire. “It’s so easy to get hold of, there’s so many websites. I send an order to them via the banks and they usually have it to me the next day as long as I get it in by a decent time in the day. If not then, it’ll come the day after.”

The surging popularity of the drug has created a certain amount of its own fallout however, as competitors that are already illegal, such as ecstasy, are perceived to have fallen dramatically in quality. One person in the room, Stuart, offers the advice “don’t buy any pills right now.” With a touch of confidence and experience in his voice, he informs me that between effective enforcement on MDMA and cocaine production in the UK, and the rise in popularity of an easily available alternative, most MDMA and cocaine is now “really, really low quality”. As a means of cheapening both, they are combined with other non-narcotic substances, which at best leads to poor value for money and at worst endangers the user.

As well as creating waves in the market for illegal drugs, the rise of mephedrone is quickly becoming a big ongoing story in the news. Legal highs have already been a tabloid favourite following the death of student Hester Stewart at the hands of an overdose on GBL in April 2009. Mephedrone is no stranger to creating exciting headlines either. The Daily Mail angrily reported on the death of a 14 year-old girl who had died after taking it with other drugs, despite coroners refusing to name a cause of death, while The Sun reported on a gruesome tale of a user ripping his own scrotum off.

When I spoke to Nick and Tom a few days later, they both seemed a bit less jovial about their use. “I’ll probably stop taking mephedrone for normal nights out. Last time scared me,” says Nick. Tom chips in, and informs me that “he took everything he had out with him in one line… when I saw him, he couldn’t speak and all his limbs were shaking. We gave him a joint, and I said “you need to calm down” and he takes one drag and then just fell over on us.”

It is rare that a substance which reaches any level of popularity is not eventually banned. The end of 2009 saw a number of substances, such as GBL, become Class C drugs.

Their possession now carries the potential of a two year prison sentence. Mephedrone and the family of chemicals it falls under, cathinones, will almost certainly come up when the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs convenes later this year to update the laws after a Home Office statement labelled it a “priority”.

While the banning of mephedrone does appear inevitable, it will not definitely stem the usage of legal highs. Some of the more famous illicit substances, such as MDMA and cannabis, already attract many legal imitators to mixed reviews.

“I took some fake E,” says Mary, a 22-year old student from Shropshire. “It wasn’t that bad, we did it at a really rainy festival and it was quite good at the time… it just didn’t feel very clean, the come down was definitely far worse than any good quality real ecstasy. The fake weed was awful though, it was like smoking oregano.”

Tom, on the other hand, has not tried imitation drugs, but legal highs that offer something a bit different. “I’ve done salvia. I really liked it. It gave me this really short time when I was just really out of my head, but it was a good feeling. I’d do it again.” Salvia is completely legal in the United Kingdom, and the few attempts to ban or legislate against have so far failed to gather any pace.

What is apparent though is that users of the drug are enjoying it while it is still around. “Mephedrone is going to get banned eventually, probably this year. But I may as well enjoy it while I can. After that something else will come along, it always does. It’ll get made illegal too eventually if it’s any good, sure, but… the point is, people are always going to get high off something.”

Death from Mephedrone? Wait for the toxicology report.

Teenager dies ‘after experimenting with legal drug meow meow’

By Andrew Levy
Last updated at 11:53 PM on 21st January 2010

A teenager died at a house party after experimenting for the first time with a dangerous drug available legally on the internet, friends said yesterday.

The body of Ben Walters, 18, was found sprawled beside a 28-year-old woman who is now fighting for her life in hospital.

Both are understood to have taken mephedrone, which is sold as a fertiliser but produces a similar euphoric high to ecstasy if ingested.

Missed: Ben Walters, 18, was found dead next to a critically ill woman friend, following a house party where he is believed to have taken legal drug mephedrone

The drug, which can be bought for as little as £4 a gram and comes in powder, tablet, crystal or liquid form, was first used on the club scene in 2007 and has nicknames including ‘meow meow’, ‘drone’ and ‘bubble’.

Paramedics and police were called to a £175,000 first floor flat in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, at 6pm on Tuesday and discovered Ben had already died.

The women, who is understood to be a friend, was rushed to Luton and Dunstable Hospital where she remained last night.

Torri Ivers, 16, a college friend of Ben’s, warned the public needed to be told about the dangers of mephedrone.

‘Nobody thinks it’s dangerous because it’s legal. It’s a substitute for heroin but you can get it over the internet,’ she said.

‘You can buy it in college because it’s cheap and nobody realises how bad it is until something happens. Nobody is taught enough about them.

Mephedrone, used as a fertiliser, can be bought legally over the internet

‘It was the first time Ben had ever taken drugs. He had a lot going for him and got good grades.

‘I can’t emphasise enough how much of a lovely, beautiful person he was. It’s not fair.’

Ben was studying drama at Amersham and Wycombe College and hoped to go Leeds University to do a media studies course.

Restaurant owner Alan Turtill, 33, who lives beside the modern two-storey red-brick block of 16 apartments where the teenager died, said residents had complained about loud parties in the flat and sent an email to the landlord in November.

He added: ‘There was noise coming from there at least once or twice a week on a regular basis, not just on the weekend.

‘There were rumours of drugs. I work late nights but I would see young people hanging around there at night time.

‘They were always playing loud dance music until three or four in the morning.’
Ben’s devastated friends posted emotional tributes on social networking site Facebook today.

Alecia Blair wrote: ‘It was an absolute pleasure to know you.

‘You were truly an amazing character and you will be thoroughly missed. Lots of love Ben. You were pure rock’n'roll.’

Dominique Leonard said: ‘Nobody had had enough of you just yet!’

Benjamin’s parents, Carol and Leon Walters, were too upset to comment at their home in Berkhamsted today.

Hertfordshire Police have ruled out any suggestion of a double suicide attempt or violent attack and said they were waiting for the results of a post-mortem examination and toxicology report.

Benjamin Walters was found dead in Priory Court in Berkhampstead, Herts, pictured. Friends of the teenager told how it was the first time he had ever taken the drug

A spokeswoman added: ‘Police were called following concerns for the welfare of two people in the property.

‘When officers arrived at the scene they discovered that an 18-year-old man had sadly died and a 28-year-old woman had been taken ill.

‘The man and woman are believed to be known to each other.

‘The woman was taken to Luton and Dunstable hospital where she remains in a critical but stable condition.’

A 17-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl were arrested on Thursday on suspicion of possessing illegal drugs.

A spokeswoman added: ‘They are currently in police custody awaiting interview.’

A spokeswoman for Amerhsam and Wycombe College said: ‘We offer our sincere condolences to the student’s family.’

Mephedrone is legal providing it is not processed or marketed for human consumption.

The outside of Mr Walter’s apartment in GV Priory Court in Berkhampstead, Herts

When used as a party drug the substance is generally taken orally. Side-effects including rapid heartbeat, mood swings and a purple discolouration of the skin, which can last for several weeks.

In November it was linked the death of 14-year-old Gabrielle Wood, from Worthing, West Sussex, although a post mortem gave the official cause of death as cardiac arrest and bronchopneumonia.

The Home Office said tests on Gabrielle Wood had revealed several substances in her body, including mephedrone.

A spokeswoman added: ‘We have commissioned the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to look at the harms and availability of ‘legal highs’.

‘They are currently looking at mephedrone, and related compounds, and their advice will inform our response.’

Last month the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, the official government adviser on illicit substances, wrote to Home Secretary Alan Johnson about mephedrone and other ‘legal highs’.

It warned the potential harms of such drugs were still unknown but they ‘could have serious public health implications’.

The council is currently researching mephedrone’s effects and is expected to advise Mr Johnson to make it illegal under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Great article. Well done that man.

Is Meow Meow the new Ecstasy?

Drugs are on my mind this week — and on my doorstep. After a night out clubbing, my two daughters, aged 19 and 20, tell me that the stimulant Meow Meow has arrived in the area, and if it has reached our sleepy market town in the Cotswolds then I suspect it is in your neighbourhood as well.

Meow Meow (mephedrone) is easily, and legally, bought over the internet where it is often advertised as plant feed. When taken as a tablet, or snorted as a powder, it gives a similar high to Ecstasy and abuse has taken off in the UK over the past couple of years.

The drug is likely to be one of the first items on the agenda for Professor Les Iversen*, the Government’s new drugs czar. Other “legal highs” such as BZP (a derivative of a worming agent) and GBL (paint stripper) have now been reclassified as Class C drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act, but mephedrone — and a similar drug, salvia or “herbal ecstasy” (the leaves of the Mexican plant Salvia divinorum) — are now under review.

Not a lot is known about the drug. It has been linked to one death so far in the UK — a 14-year old girl who took it at a party near Brighton — and there have been a number of people admitted to hospital with bizarre side-effects, including a teenage boy, who is reported to have had such severe hallucinations that he ripped off his scrotum.

It is difficult to put these reports in context without knowing how many people are using mephedrone and how they are taking it. It is not unusual for legal highs to be taken with copious amounts of alcohol and/or other drugs, including ketamine (known as Milton Keynes when mixed with mephedrone). Add in the inevitable variations in quality that occur with any black market drug, and it is very difficult to find out what people are actually taking.

Users of Meow Meow report an amphetamine-type euphoria that comes with mental and physical stimulation, talkativeness and feelings of empathy. Physical changes include dilated pupils, increased heart rate and blood pressure, sweating, flushing and goose bumps.

And, despite the scrotum ripping story, most don’t report any significant hallucinations.

The effects start to become noticeable within half an hour of taking a tablet or within a couple of minutes of snorting the drug and last for anything up to four hours (less if snorted).

The downside includes a strong desire to take more, rapid changes in body temperature (sweating or chills), paranoia, palpitations, panic attacks and muscle spasms. A hangover the next morning tends not to be too much of a problem and it is not known whether Meow Meow is addictive — although a number of cases have started to trickle through into NHS drug treatment centres.

Although it is now legal to take the drug, it is illegal to supply it for human consumption which is why most suppliers advertise it as “plant food”. A Google search revealed more than 52,000 hits for the drug in the UK. I have advised my daughters to steer clear of the stuff (although both are at university and well past the age where they take too much notice of what I say).

Even if Meow Meow is comparatively safe, there is always the worry that it could be the start of a slippery slope. The evidence that legal highs, or “soft” drugs such as cannabis, lead to an inexorable path to more dangerous substances such as heroin, is patchy. It may in some, but will not in most.

Only time will tell how how risky mephedrone abuse really is. Many young people regard today’s concerns as propaganda, but it took decades to discover that cocaine (which used to be legal and an ingredient in Coca-Cola) is nowhere near as harmless as many users still believe.

A recent study in Spain into nearly 700 sudden deaths found that cocaine was responsible for around 1 in 30 of them — all of them in people under 45.

Drug abuse is endemic. If your son or daughter has not experimented with at least one drug then I guarantee that he or she will be mixing with people who have. But while drug abuse may be every parent’s nightmare, the vast majority of young people who try them will emerge unscathed from their dabbling.

And while focusing on drugs we risk looking past the dangers of alcohol. It may be only natural to worry about your child trying drugs, but the most dangerous one of all, in terms of its impact on the nation’s health, is both legal and freely available. And, unlike Meow Meow, likely to remain so for the foreseeable future.

*In a rather confusing move, the Government sacked the widely respected David Nutt as its key adviser on drugs after he questioned the tightening of legislation on cannabis — only to replace him with someone who once called for its legalisation.

Dr Mark Porter

My Favorate quote of the day…

‘THIS DRUB MENACE MUST BE BANNED’

“Sheriff Stein warned that people buying mephedrone via the Internet could not know what was in it and that it could be cut or contaminated with Class A drugs such as cocaine or ecstasy.”

Admin-

Because dealers always cut their goods with something more expensive! How nice of them. Really? I mean please!! Could you please tell me why a vendor would cut his cheap Mephedrone with something that costs 5 times more expensive!!? Oh, i know, maybe to make it go a little further?

I hope to think here that Sheriff Stein is talking in terms of cross contamination. I.e. a vendor bagging many different products in one room all at the same time. Which i feel is a highly unlikely situation. Most mephedrone vendors are just people who have seen this gap in the market to sell a drug & is unlikely to get prosecuted for it. They wouldnt go near Class A drugs.

Also, what is going on with the title of this article!? “‘THIS DRUB MENACE MUST BE BANNED’!

Read the actual article here. Just seems like a big mess to me.

Published Date:
15 January 2010
By Jennifer Newton
A 21-YEAR-OLD man who appeared at Arbroath Sheriff Court blamed new drug craze ‘bubbles’ for making him assault a police officer and threaten to kill himself.
Ghobhainn Thomson told the court he had only been taking the drug, also known as mephedrone, for three or four weekends, but in that time it had led him to feel paranoid and suicidal.

Thomson, Provost Reid’s Road, Montrose, also warned others not to take bubbles as
he says he became dependent on the substance despite taking it for only a short period of time.

The defendant’s warning comes just weeks after Arbroath Sheriff Norrie Stein had voiced his concerns in the Herald about the drug, which is claimed to be in widespread use in Arbroath and Angus and can be purchased legally on the Internet as a plant food chemical.

Sheriff Stein warned that people buying mephedrone via the Internet could not know what was in it and that it could be cut or contaminated with Class A drugs such as cocaine or ecstasy.

He also raised fears about the problems that could be caused by the effects which are said to give users a sudden high then a massive low.

Thomson, who appeared in court on Monday in front of Sheriff Stein, had been arrested on Sunday and charged with numerous offences.

He admitted that on January 10 at 3 Baillie Norrie Crescent, Montrose, he had conducted himself in a disorderly manner by removing a knife from a drawer and cutting his left arm before placing it on his throat and threatening to kill himself.

On the same day, he admitted that in Glenlethnot Place, he lifted a glass bottle over his head and threatened a police officer and then brandished a lighter and lighter fluid before threatening to set himself on fire.

He also pleaded guilty to another charge of assaulting a police officer by striking him on the body and said all his actions were brought on by taking bubbles.

Sentencing was deferred by Sheriff Stein until February 2 for reports and Thomson was granted bail on condition of keeping himself drugs and alcohol free.

Page 1

New drug on the streets – and it’s legal! Where have these people been?

New drug on the streets – and it’s legal
by KATIE BOWLER
A LEGAL drug which has an effect similar to cocaine and ecstasy is becoming ʻeven more popularʼ in East Staffordshire and South Derbyshire, Burton ʼs addiction centre has revealed.

Mephedrone, said to be the ‘next big thing’ on the drug scene, is thought to have arrived in Britain last year and has been obtainable in the area for about six months.

The white powder drug, which is rarely injected and usually snorted but can also be taken in capsule form, can be bought off the internet for as little as £5.

Some websites even offer a home delivery service, akin to ordering a takeaway.

Users say they feel more alert, confident and talkative and like cocaine, the effects appear to last around an hour before wearing off.

Mephedrone has a host of street names, including meph, 4-MMC, MCAT – which is the common name for the substance in Burton, Swadlincote and Ashby – drone, meow and bubbles.

To bypass the law, street and online dealers label the drug as plant food marked ‘not for human consumption’.

Many illegal drugs, including ecstasy, were first developed as medicines, a history involving tests which allowed scientists to gain some idea of the harm they can cause. Mephedrone does not have that scientific background and was developed in backstreet laboratories with no human testing, so the long-term effects are unknown.

Side effects can include excessive sweating, headaches, palpitations, nausea, cold or blue fingers, paranoia, hallucinations and serious panic attacks.

A spokesman for the service users’ committee at Burton Addiction Centre, in Station Street, said they had heard of the drug and that it had been around for some time.

He said: “This fairly new drug is starting to get bigger and more popular.

“It’s so cheap and easy to get hold of and has similar effects to MDMA.

“The substance is apparently available in our area for £20 a gram, and in some areas £15.”

The Government’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has been asked to research the harms linked to legal highs such as mephedrone and is expected to report in March.

An EU agency, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, is also ‘following closely’ mephedrone’s growth.