Warning over 'plant food' drug

Published on Wednesday 25 November 2009 20:47

AN URGENT health warning has been issued about a new recreational drug made from plant food after five people overdosed on it.

Dundee has become the centre of a growing trade in a drug known as "Bubbles", which has become as popular as Ecstasy in some of clubs and pubs.

Health service experts and Tayside Police have joined forces to warn about the potential risks after five people – the youngest understood to have been only 15 – collapsed after taking the drug. Two were admitted to Dundee's Ninewells Hospital, though none of the overdoses was fatal.

The drug's main ingredient is mephedrone – which is not a controlled substance – and it is being made from plant food. A Tayside Police spokeswoman said: "Mephedrone in itself is dangerous, but there are also concerns about the possible unknown additives in the capsules as well.

"The buyer has no idea what is in the capsules being sold to them and the dealer doesn't care what the health implications will be for the consumer."

There is also evidence that Bubbles has spread into Fife, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Gareth Balmer, at the Dundee branch of the drug charity Addaction, said the increasing popularity of the drug was of major concern.

He said: "This drug is being used as a popular alternative to Ecstasy, which is a Class A drug. It is not just in the pubs and clubs. It's in the schools as well and we have had reports of 14, 15 and 16 year-olds taking this drug and that is particularly worrying."

Reported side-effects include increased heart rate, agitation, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, circulation problems and narrowing of the arteries.