Use of legal high mephedrone on the increase
Worries are growing over the increase in the use of the drug mephedrone by teenagers and young adults in the U.K. as the number of people requiring medical treatment after using it is on the rise. Mephedrone, also known as bubble or drone is a legal drug which is said to have similar effects on users as ecstasy and cocaine. It can be bought easily over the internet and comes in liquid, crystal, powder and pill forms. It is also relatively cheap.
Hospitals across the country are reporting that people who have taken the drug are coming through their doors with symptoms such as nose bleeds, heart palpitations, burns, insomnia, paranoia and problems with their memory. A police officer in York also said that some users of the mephedrone had needed their hearts restarted after they had been stopped by the drug. Durham Police Inspector, Kevin Tuck said that Mephedrone was also causing some users to become violent and that some of his fellow officers had been the victims of assault by people with the drug in their system. He also gave the example of a man who took a day and a half to come down from his high but who was still very paranoid afterwards.
Gareth Balmer, a drugs worker in Dundee warned that the city was full of people who were using mephedrone. In one weekend alone last year there were five non-lethal overdoses within the city. It is expected that the Home Secretary, Alan Johnson will be advised to make mephedrone illegal.