Mephedrone

Mephedrone is a "legal high" with similar effects to ecstasy and cocaine. According to a report in The Guardian in January 2010:

Growing numbers of teenagers and young people are receiving emergency medical treatment after being harmed by a legal drug that has the same effects as ecstasy and cocaine. Users of mephedrone are ending up with nose bleeds and burns, paranoia, heart palpitations, insomnia and memory problems. Some have had such a strong reaction to it that their hearts have stopped and they have had to be resuscitated. The drug – also known as "drone", "bubble" or "meow meow" – is causing concern to NHS staff, drug workers and the police, who are powerless to control it because it is legal. It comes in powder, tablet, crystal or liquid form and is ­marketed as plant food or bath salts, often via the internet.

Resources

• Denis Campbell, Fears grow over safety of 'legal high' mephedrone, The Guardian, 17-January-2010