The above link is in reference to an article published by The Guardian this morning. Yesterday two teenagers died after using mephedrone and there has been a public outcry for the reclassification of the drug. Currently legal in the UK, mephedrone, not to be confused with methadone, has been deemed as the possible drug of the next decade. In the 90's there was ecstasy, in the 00's there was cocaine and ketamine and now it would seem the party drug of choice is rapidly becoming mephedrone (or m-Cat as it is commonly known).
The major concern about this drug is not dissimilar to that of other drugs that have come up the club rankings since the 70's – what are the long terms effects, what are the chances of overdosing etc. However, perhaps the most controversial element of this debate is the fact that mephedrone is legal to buy, which may be a significant indicator of why children as young as 11 have been turning up at school high on mephedrone. This touches on the wider debate of legal highs. Are legal highs any safer than illicit drugs (or could it even be a case where some illicit highs are dubbed safer by the recreational drug taking community than legal highs?). Despite the actual chemical make up of these drugs and whether they are deemed to be safe or not by experts, surely the legal status of such drugs gives an illusion of safety if they are legal?
No comments:
Post a Comment