Known as ‘meow meow’, it was legal until last April and has been linked to nearly 100 deaths in the past two years.
The figure emerged in a report by government drug advisers, who warn that taking ‘legal highs’ is like playing Russian roulette because users often have no idea what is in them.
Professor Les Iversen, chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, called for new laws to deal with the ‘uncontrolled market’ in legal highs.
He said these substances were luring non-drug users into risking their health. Many wrongly believed anything that had not been banned was safe.
The report reveals it is not uncommon for students to make money selling legal highs directly to their peers or through websites.
Prof Iversen said many of those buying the substances were people who would ‘never dream of going to a back-street drug dealer, but who are happy to take out their mobile phone and credit card and order it to be delivered to their home’.
He added: ‘There is a whole group of people who have started using drugs who before would not have dreamed of doing that.’
Mephedrone – which is taken in powder form, often as a substitute for cocaine – is now a class B drug after its use was criminalised last year.
But in the months before the ban came into force, use of the drug spiralled among clubbers, with some surveys suggesting up to 40 per cent had tried it.
The report found mephedrone caused or contributed to 42 deaths in the UK between late 2009 and October 20 this year. Tests are still being carried out in another 56 suspected cases.
But this may underestimate the true scale of the problem as mephedrone leaves the body quickly after use.
In May last year Rebecca Cardwell, 19, a care worker from Colne, East Lancashire, died after taking mephedrone. She suffered from acute liver failure after collapsing within hours of buying a wrap of the drug for ￡5.
Mephedrone has also been implicated in a number of deaths where users have become depressed and committed suicide.
Prof Iversen said growing numbers of young people were being taken to hospital after using legal highs.
He added: ‘Users are playing a game of Russian roulette. They are buying substances marked as research chemicals.
‘The implication is that you should do the research on yourself to find out whether they’re safe or not.
‘This is a totally uncontrolled, unregulated market.’ The report says children under 16 are most at risk of serious harm from legal highs.
It calls for a new U.S.-style drug law banning any substances similar to those already outlawed.
It says a new body should be established to promptly ban new drugs brought on to the market.
The report urges ministers to put pressure on countries such as China to crack down on websites known to be exporting legal highs to Britain.
Maryon Stewart, whose 21-year-old daughter Hester died after taking the legal high GBL before it was criminalised in 2009, called on ministers to invest in education programmes.
She said: ‘These crazy chemists are making millions while our kids are being harmed.
‘We need to raise awareness and educate children so they know just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s safe.’
没有评论:
发表评论