No quick ban for killer drug 'meow meow'

Published on Wednesday 17 March 2010 21:44

THE UK government will be presented with advice before the end of this month on whether to ban a legal drug linked to the deaths of two teenagers.

• Mephedrone is a legal drug usually found in powder form. Picture: Complimentary

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) is due to report on any harm caused by mephedrone – also known as "meow-meow" or M-Cat – and junior Home Office minister Alan Campbell said the government was "determined to act swiftly".

Calls from headteachers to ban the substance, which is sold as plant food and bath salts, have intensified after the deaths of Louis Wainwright, 18, and Nicholas Smith, 19, from Lincolnshire.

However, the scientific community has warned against hasty decisions being taken without sound evidence.

Even if a decision is made to outlaw mephedrone after the government gets its advice on 29 March, any ban would not come into effect immediately, as the ACMD would have say whether it should be a class A, B, or C drug.

Humberside Police said yesterday that four people had been arrested over the teenagers' deaths in Scunthorpe.

Tony Smith, the father of Nicholas, who died on Monday night, said:

"We are now aware the government are looking at making this drug illegal, but the fact is that young people have already died and, had something been done before now, our son would still be with us."

Mr Smith said he believed his son had been unaware of the dangers of the drug. "I assume that because it's a legal drug, he thought it was safe to take," he added.

Mephedrone was virtually unknown until early last year, but it is now one of the most popular drugs in nightclubs and is widely available online. Users have had side-effects such as high blood pressure, nose bleeds, weight loss, insomnia and even psychosis.

Teaching bodies are demanding action, pointing out that, as the substance is not illegal, even if supplies are confiscated, students are entitled to ask for them back.

Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, demanded that the government reclassify mephedrone as a class-A drug and said there should be improved drugs education in schools.

Ken Cunningham, general secretary of School Leaders Scotland, said the nature of legal drugs was changing at a "frightening rate" and that more must be done to educate children about the dangers. "There is a lot of misunderstanding among youngsters over legal drugs, but just because something is legal, it doesn't mean it is safe.

"Legal drugs are just a confusion to us, and we would like to see clarity on this issue," he said.

But Professor David Nutt, who was fired from the ACMD last year by Home Secretary Alan Johnson after claiming Ecstasy and cocaine were less harmful than alcohol, urged caution. He now chairs an independent committee on drugs and said: "Such decisions need to be based on sound science. Some previously reported mephedrone deaths have also turned out to be false alarms."

MEPHEDRONE

&#149 Sold as white powder, also found in capsules and pills, or can be dissolved in liquid

&#149 Often sold online as plant food marked "not for human consumption"

&#149 Reported side-effects include headaches, palpitations, nausea, cold or blue fingers

&#149 Long-term effects unknown

&#149 Currently legal to buy and be in possession of the powder, but against law to sell, supply or advertise drug for human consumption under Medicines Act

&#149 Already illegal in Israel, Denmark, Norway and Sweden

&#149 Has chemical name 4-methylmethcathinone (4-MMC), often shortened to MMCAT. From cat, the name miaow miaow developed among clubbers, possibly in France