Page last updated at: Thu, 17 November 2011 14:06 PM GMT Printable version

Mephedrone, what's the deal?

by David Djukic

Mephadrone userStudents and partygoers alike have been swept away by a new craze storming the country, mephedrone. It’s legal, it’s cheap and it can be delivered straight to your doorstep via placing an order over the internet.

What has been described as: “A weird hybrid of MDMA mixed with cocaine” by users, comes at less than half the price you would pay for either of the aforementioned, plus there is no need to worry about having to deal with dodgy drug dealers or having the police arrest you for possession.

With all that said, a lot of users do not take into account that just because a drug is legal, does not necessarily mean it is safer than any of the Class A listed drugs like ecstasy, cocaine, speed etc….

It simply means that the substances combined to produce the drug have not passed government legislative procedures to be deemed illegal.

Legal drugs such as mephedrone and many others contain a range of potentially dangerous chemicals, with chemical makeup that changes all the time - you can never be 100 per cent certain what you have bought, and what the effects might be.

If you found that snorting something like Daz washing up powder got you high, it would certainly be legal, but is it safe or sanitary…of course not!

Never Underestimate

Many people will also underestimate the psychological dependence of these so-called “legal drugs.” The Substances used in mephedrone are addictive and, in most cases, have never before been used as a drug, so haven't undertaken any tests to show that they are safe. Nor do they have a long history of use, so health problems or side effects will be unexpected.

Since it made itself known to the public in the last two or so years, there has only been one major mephedrone induced death reported in the media. A 14 year old girl died in Brighton, England at a house party after taking the legal high and mixing it with the drug ketamine.

Suffice to say, it is still proven statistically on The Guardian datablog that alcohol carries the second biggest mortality rate next to heroin so as far as chances of death are concerned, legal highs don’t carry a drastically high risk factor, not that this makes it any less dangerous.

Even though a lot of people in the student community are prone to experimenting with the odd substance, it is always important to bare in mind that even the legal drugs carry a high risk factor, so make sure you know what you're doing if you choose take certain paths.

Drugs like ecstasy and speed all started life as legal-highs before racking up considerable mortality rates to be deemed potentially lethal so it’s vital to never underestimate what you're taking no matter how much fun you potentially think you may have.

 

 

 

 


Comments:


  1. Anonymous
    2011-03-25 00:50:45
    Ecstacy didn't rack up serious deaths, no one dies from MDMA. They die for dancing too hard and overheating.


  2. Bee
    2011-02-27 23:34:55
    I love it I think its such a great high.. but Is it safe? Are the above comments true?! liver failure, stroke, infertility??


  3. johhny
    2011-02-01 05:39:11
    this stuff is insane very similiar to ex, pure molly is more like it it is VERY addictive so be warned. street name - tron


  4. paul
    2010-11-08 20:37:53
    I have tried it, ages ago, I had two lines in eight hours and was sufficiently inebriated. The people who've died and collapsed were probably taking things too far - like any drug, if you abuse it you will overdose.


  5. question
    2010-05-24 18:35:37
    how much di dthese kids ingest? maximum does is 1g orally and that is for a large american


  6. yep yep yo
    2010-03-29 23:18:04
    wee love it down here in harbourveiw appartments


  7. Eva
    2010-03-17 12:52:14
    17th of March, 2 more deaths this weekend, Louis Wainwright, 18, and Nicholas Smith, 19. Do not use this drug.


  8. Brian Madden
    2010-02-10 22:08:09
    3 young men this weekend in Belfast took it one liver failure, one took stroke and today another collapsed. Mater Hospital Belfast. Ban it now.


  9. mike
    2009-12-30 12:08:46
    untested drugs like this could cause birth defects when the users start to have children? why take the risk

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