1. Mephedrone

2. What is Mephedrone
Mephedrone (often called ‘meow meow’) is a powerful stimulant and is part of the cathinone family, a group of drugs that are closely related to the  amphetamines – including amphetamine itself (often called ‘speed’), methamphetamine and ecstasy

3. Mephedrone sold as ‘plant food – not for human consumption’
4-MMC, Bounce, Bubble, Charge, Drone, M-Cat, MC, Meow Meow, Meph, Miaow,
White Magic.

4. Mephedrone quickly stopped being just a laugh
‘my heart was beating so quickly, I was very paranoid and everything started feeling spaced out. My head ached and my friends urged me to drink some water because I was so dehydrated, yet I was frightened to drink too much and die. I was finding it hard to breathe
After 19 hours with no sleep, I had a huge comedown and everything seemed horrible, I slept all day’

5. Teenager, 18, plunged to his death after climbing scaffolding while
high on meow meow
July 2010
Aidan McSweeney, 18, sustained multiple injuries when he fell from the rooftop after taking drug mephedrone
A teenager climbed scaffolding while high on meow meow and plunged to his death, an inquest heard.
Aidan McSweeney, 18, sustained multiple injuries when he fell from the rooftop after taking drug mephedrone.
The clever teenager had recently moved out of the family village home in Towcester, Northamptonshire, after his A-levels to live with friends in town.
His distraught mother Lynne Bucinikas, 54, described her son as a ‘sensitive’ boy who became a victim of peer pressure.
Away from home he lived in an environment where drugs like mephedrone were readily available which he took to ‘fit in’.
Lynne, who runs a landscape gardening business, yesterday sent a stark warning to other parents.
She said: ‘I think it's appalling that so many youngsters died before it was made illegal. Even now you can find it and other manufactured drugs like it online.
‘It's become socially acceptable to take at parties and I want parents to realise how freely available these drugs are to young people.
‘My son was a sensitive and intelligent boy but he wanted to fit in, you wouldn't realise the danger if everyone is doing it.
Read more: moved out to live with his friends. We live in a quiet village so it allowed him to go out, I was happy for him to enjoy himself.
‘I think he took the drugs to feel accepted by his peers, he always wanted to be the entertainer at parties.
‘Before he died we heard that he had not slept for three days on this drug. We were told that other times he woke up in unfamiliar places with no idea how he got there.’
Aidan moved out of his family home in Towcester, which he shared with his mother and sister Catlin, 17, to a flat in Northampton
Read more: moved out to live with his friends. We live in a quiet village so it allowed him to go out, I was happy for him to enjoy himself.
Read more:

6. His distraught mother Lynne Bucinikas, described her son as a ‘sensitive' boy who became a victim of peer pressure
Aidan McSweeney had not slept for three days before his death, while on the drug, his mother said She said her son wanted to fit in with his peers
Aidan's mother believed he climbed the scaffolding during a drug-fuelled prank

7. ‘Before he died we heard that he had not slept for three days on this drug. We were told that other times he woke up in unfamiliar places with no idea how he got there’.

8. Northampton teen’s death led to ‘substantial’ mephedrone discovery

9. ‘
A medical student was knifed to death in a "brutal, cold and ruthless" attack by a gang of men who plotted to steal his supply of the banned drug mephedrone

10. News Head Lines Coroner confirms mephedrone death
A teenager who crashed into two cars while under the influence of the "legal high" mephedrone has been fined and banned from driving
A man from East Sussex has died after taking the legal drug mephedrone
The mother of a 17-year-old boy who killed himself has said she believes the 'legal high' mephedrone was responsible for his suicide.
A woman who has died in North Yorkshire had recently taken the legal drug mephedrone, police have been told.

11. Third of clubbers who take mephedrone may be addicted, survey finds
Contrary to the belief that mephedrone is less harmful than drugs like cocaine, many users showed signs of dependence
Three in 10 clubbers who take the drug mephedrone exhibit symptoms associated with addiction, a study has found. Many users of the banned substance, sometimes called "meow meow", had several signs of dependence, including withdrawal effects, failed attempts to give up, and taking larger and larger doses.
UK Home Office figures published in July found mephedrone ranks joint second with cocaine behind cannabis in popularity among 16- to 24-year-olds, with 4.4% having taken it in the previous 12 months.
"Some have suggested mephedrone has a profile that is less harmful than other substances like cocaine, but our evidence suggests people are going to run into problems associated with dependence that could ruin lives," said Adam Winstock of the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, who led the new study.
Dr Winstock's team interviewed 100 people who had reported mephedrone use in a previous survey carried out in association with the clubbing magazine MixMag.
Dependence can only be diagnosed with a proper clinical assessment. However, the researchers used a telephone interview version of a classification system called DSM-IV, with participants being asked about seven aspects of their drug use.
These covered increased tolerance; withdrawal symptoms; consumption of more mephedrone than intended; failed attempts to cut back or give up; spending a lot of time taking the drug or recovering from doing so; giving up social, professional and recreational activities because of it; and continuing to take it despite associated health problems.
Three or more positive answers to these questions is considered to indicate possible substance dependence. In the mephedrone survey, 30% of respondents met this criterion. In addition, 34% reported being concerned about their use of the drug, 22% said they had a persistent or strong urge to use it, and 15% said family or friends had expressed concerns about their use. Tests carried out on 14 of the participants confirmed that all had traces of mephedrone in their urine.
Most users reported feelings of euphoria, talkativeness, empathy and increased sexual desire. Common withdrawal-related effects included tiredness, insomnia, nasal congestion and anxiety. The findings are published in this month's issue of the journal Addiction.
A separate online survey, due to be presented by Dr Winstock at the Australian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs conference in Hobart, Tasmania, next week, found 25% of mephedrone users scored at least three out of seven on the same dependency scale. This compared with 25% for ecstasy and 24% for cocaine.
More than half of respondents said they had worries about friends' substance use. When asked which substance concerned them, 24% said mephedrone, compared with 18% for alcohol, 16% for cocaine and 12% for cannabis.
Mephedrone was classified in the UK as a Class B substance in April last year. Prior to the ban it was a "legal high", with users buying it primarily from websites that advertised it as "plant food". Since then prices have approximately doubled to £20 per gram and the trade has been taken over by street dealers.
"In the beginning people thought mephedrone was an ecstasy-like drug, but we are coming to realise it is more of an amphetamine, so it is no surprise we are seeing amphetamine-like problems such as dependency, re-dosing and compulsion," said Fiona Measham, a criminologist at Lancaster University and a member of the government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.
"These symptoms will lead to people not sleeping enough, not eating, losing touch with reality, becoming paranoid and ultimately moving into the realm of mental health problems.

12. A recent survey for the dance magazine Mixmag found that 67% of mephedrone users reported excess sweating;
51% headaches;
43% heart palpitations; 27% nausea;
15% cold or blue fingers.

13. Home Office figures drawn from the authoritative British Crime Survey estimate that around 300, to 24-year-olds, or 4.4% of their age group, used mephedrone in the past 12 months.

14. Mephedrone: The Risks
Users have reported blue or cold fingers – this is probably because mephedrone affects the heart and the circulation.
Some users have also had severe nosebleeds.
There were six deaths involving mephedrone reported in 2010 in England and Wales.
Overheating has been a significant cause of deaths when other amphetamine-type drugs, such as ecstasy, have been used along with mephedrone

15. Mephedrone and the law
Mephedrone is a Class B drug – so it’s illegal to have for yourself, give away or sell.
Possession is illegal and can get you up to five years in jail and/or an unlimited fine.
Supplying someone else, even your friends, can get you fourteen years in jail and/or an unlimited fine.

16. Effects on User Hallucinations.
feel sick, paranoid and anxious, and it can cause vomiting and headaches.
It risks overstimulating and damaging your heart and your circulation
heart palpitations, insomnia, loss of short-term memory, vertigo (a form of dizziness), grinding of teeth, sweating and uncomfortable changes in body temperature.