LONDON—Mephedrone, a legal drug linked to over 20 recent deaths, could be banned “within a matter weeks” in the U.K., according to the U.K. Home Secretary, Alan Johnson.
The drug is sold ostensibly as a plant food on Web sites specifically for it, and in one year it has become one of the most popular drugs on the club scene.
Johnson wants to use legizlation to ban mephedrone and any similar concoctions that could be cooked up by manufacturers.
In Ayr, Scotland, a campaign to ban the drug began after the death of 19-year-old Jordan Kiltie from Dalmilling following a night out with friends where it’s believed mephedrone was taken.
Ayr has an adult shop, Bodystyle International, that sells mephedrone. Owner Frank Nicholson told the Ayrshire Post, “We’re still selling the product but taking it under advisement as we speak. However, if we were to stop selling mephedrone, people can easily go elsewhere in Ayrshire and get similarly manufactured products.”
Manufactured in China
Toxicologist Dr. John Ramsey, who works to identify drugs in the laboratory, told Holly Williams of Sky News, “The Chinese chemical industry seems to provide anything at a price. So if somebody here orders something they'll either synthesize it or have it in stock, and they'll send it, regardless of what it's to be used for.”
Posing as a potential customer, Sky contacted Shanghai-based company, Blinkchem. Sky discovered that Blinkchem already has five British customers, "two of them big ones.”
When Blinkchem was asked if the banning of the drugs would cause problems, she was told that they were prepared. "We're working on five or six new legal products," she was told. "Most of them come from our British customers. They told us how to make the new ones."
The U.K. government Web site, ASK FRANK, which pitches information to young people, states that cathinone is a naturally occurring stimulant found in the khat plant and cathinones are a group of drugs related to amphetamine compounds like ecstasy.
“Meow meow can come in the form of capsules, tablets, or white powder that users may swallow, snort or even inject. It acts as a stimulant and a 'psychedelic,’ with reportedly similar properties to the drug ecstasy (MDMA),” an NHS Web site states.
The name of the khat plant gives the colloquial “meow meow.” It comes from eastern Africa where locals chew it for an amphetamine-like high. The drug is also referred to as “M-Kat.”
The NHS site states that medical and scientific information on mephedrone is “scarce” although “it seems sensible to assume that mephedrone is not safe unless rigorous scientific research proves otherwise.”
“Many of the initial medical case reports on mephedrone suggest that it can cause problems with breathing and the circulatory system, particularly when combined with alcohol,” it states.
