Mephedrone , also known as 4-methyl methcathinone ( 4-MMC ) or 4-methyl ephedrone , is a drug synthetic stimulants of amphetamine and cathinone classes. The slang name includes bath salts, buzz , M-CAT , White Magic and meow meow . Chemically similar to the cathinone compounds found in khat factory in eastern Africa. It comes in the form of tablets or powders, which the user can swallow, grunt or inject, producing effects similar to MDMA, amphetamines and cocaine.
In addition to its stimulant effect, mephedrone produces side effects, in which bruxism is the most common. Mephedrone metabolism has been studied in mice and humans and metabolites can be detected in urine after use.
Mephedrone was first synthesized in 1929, but it was not widely known until it was rediscovered in 2003 where it was legitimate to be produced and owned in many countries. In 2007, mephedrone was reportedly available for sale on the internet, in 2008 law enforcement agencies have become aware of the complex, and by 2010, mephedrone has been reported in most of Europe, becoming very common in the UK. Mephedrone was first made illegal in Israel in 2008, followed by Sweden later that year. In 2010, it was made illegal in many European countries and in December 2010, the EU decided it was illegal. In Australia, New Zealand and the United States, it is considered analogous to other illegal drugs and can be controlled by laws similar to the US Federal Analog Act. In September 2011, the US classified temporary mephedrone as drug Schedule I, effective October 2011. This classification was made permanent in July 2012 with the passage of the Drug Abuse Prevention Prevention Act (SDAPA).
Video Mephedrone
Usage
Recreation
Users have reported that mephedrone causes euphoria, stimulation, increased music appreciation, increased mood, decreased hostility, improved mental function and mild sexual stimulation; this effect is similar to the effects of cocaine, amphetamines and MDMA, and the last amount of time differently depending on the way the drug is taken. Of the 70 Dutch mephedrone users, 58 described it as an overall fun experience and 12 described it as an unpleasant experience. In a survey of British users who had previously used cocaine, most users found it produced better quality and was more durable and less addictive. Users are also asked to compare "risk", and they reply that it's the same. A study of users in Northern Ireland found that they did not equate the fact that mephedrone is legal because it is safe to use. This is contrary to other studies in New Zealand, where benzylpiperazine users think that because it's legal, it's safe.
Available form
Mephedrone can come in the form of capsules, tablets or white powders that can be swallowed, snorted, inject, smoked or using rectal. When taken orally, users report that they can feel the effect within 15-45 minutes; when it sniffs, the effect is felt within minutes and reaches its peak in half an hour. The effects last for two to three hours when taken orally or nasally, but only half an hour if taken intravenously. It is sometimes sold mixed with methylone in a product called bubbles in the UK and also mixed with other cathinones, including ethcathinone, butylone, fluoromethcathinone and methedrone.
Purity
One published study analyzing mephedrone samples purchased using the internet in the UK in 2010 found it was a rasemic (mixture of both stereoisomers) and high purity. An unpublished study of six samples also ordered from the internet in the UK in 2010 found that they contained very little organic impurities. Four products sold in Irish head shops were tested in 2010 and found to contain between 82% and 14% mephedrone, with some products containing benzocaine and caffeine.
Maps Mephedrone
Adverse effects
Short-term effects
ECMDDA reports that mephedrone can cause undesirable side effects including: enlarged pupils, poor concentration, dental grinding, visually focussed problems, poor short-term memory, hallucinations, delusions, and uncertain behaviors. They note that the most severe effects appear anecdotal to be associated with high doses or long-term use, and the effect may be due to users taking other intoxicants at the same time. Other effects users on internet forums have noted include changes in body temperature, increased heart rate, difficulty breathing, loss of appetite, increased sweating, discoloration of extremities, anxiety, paranoia and depression. When it sniffs, it can also cause a nose bleed and a burning nose. A survey conducted by the National Addiction Center, UK, found 67% of mephedrone users had sweats, 51% had headaches, 43% of cardiac palpitations, 27% of nausea and 15% of cold or blue fingers, suggesting vasoconstriction. Doctors at Guy's Hospital, London reported that, of the 15 patients they treated after taking mephedrone in 2009, 53% were restless, 40% had an elevated heart rate, 20% had systolic hypertension and 20% had seizures; three treatments are needed with benzodiazepines, especially to control their agitation. They reported none of their patients suffering from a cold or blue periphery, contrary to other reports. Nine of 15 patients had a Glasgow coma scale (GCS) of 15, showed them in a normal mental state, four had GCS below 8, but these patients all reportedly used central nervous system depressants, most often GHB, with mephedrone. The patients also reported the use of polydrug from various compounds.
Neurotoxicity
The neurotoxic effects of mephedrone on serotonin (5-HT) and dopamine (DA) systems remain controversial. Although several studies on animal models reported no damage to the DA nerve endings in the striatum and no significant changes in brain monoamine levels, some others suggested rapid reduction in the function of 5-HT and DA transporters. Persistent serotonergic deficits are observed after a feast such as treatment in a warm environment and at both ends of the serotonergic and dopaminergic nerves at elevated ambient temperatures. The cytotoxicity of oxidative stress and increased peroxidation of the cortical frontal lipids are also reported.
Improvement disorder
There was a report about the wishes of mephedrone users, suggesting it might be addictive.
Overdose
Toxicity
In 2009, one case of sympathomimetic toxicity was reported in the UK after a person took 0.2 g of mephedrone orally, and after this did not achieve the desired effect, a 3.8 g injection of skin was mixed with water to his thigh. Shortly after, users "develop palpitations, blurred tunnel vision, chest pressure and sweating". Patients were treated with 1 mg of lorazepam and sympathomimetic features decreased and users were discharged within six hours of arrival. One case of serotonin syndrome has been reported, in which the patient has been prescribed fluoxetine and olanzapine, and then takes 40 tablets containing mephedrone in one night. She was treated with lorazepam and discharged 15 hours after admission. The two enantiomers of methcathinone, which differ only in the lack of methyl groups in aryl rings when compared with mephedrone, have been shown to be toxic to mouse dopamine neurons, and S -enantiomer are also toxic. against serotonin neurons. Simon Gibbons and Mire Zloh from the School of Pharmacy at the University of London stated, based on the chemical similarity between methcathinone and mephedrone, "it is highly likely that mephedrone will exhibit neurotoxicity". However, Brunt and colleagues state, "extreme precautions" should be used when deducing mephedrone toxicity from methcathinone, noting some of the toxicities associated with methcathinone is due to manganese impurities associated with its synthesis, rather than the compound itself. They concluded more experimental research is needed to investigate the toxicity of mephedrone.
The doctor treating a 15-year-old woman suffering from mephedrone intoxication suggested in The Lancet that, like MDMA, mephedrone may increase serotonin-mediated antidiuretic hormone release, resulting in hyponatremia and changing mental state. In another case, a 19-year-old man was admitted to a hospital suffering from cardiac inflammation, 20 hours after taking a gram of mephedrone. Doctors treating patients claim that it is caused by the direct toxic effects of mephedrone on the heart muscle, or by the immune response. One case of acquired methaemoglobinaemia, in which a patient has "lips and bluish fingers", has also been reported, after the user snorts a gram of mephedrone. The patient starts to recover after arriving at the hospital and does not need to take any medication.
Death
Swedish
In 2008, an 18-year-old Swedish woman died in Stockholm after taking mephedrone. The Svenska Dagbladet newspaper reported that the woman had a seizure and turned blue on her face. Doctors report her coma and suffer from severe hyponatremia and hypokalemia; the woman died a day and a half after the onset of symptoms. Autopsy results show severe brain swelling. Mephedrone was scheduled to be classified as a "dangerous substance" in Sweden even before the woman's death at Karolinska University Hospital on December 14, but death brought more media attention to the drug. Mephedrone ownership is classified as a criminal offense in Sweden on December 15, 2008.
United Kingdom
In 2010, unconfirmed reports speculated about the role mephedrone had played in the deaths of several young people in Britain. In July 2010, mephedrone was allegedly involved in 52 deaths in the UK, but detected only in 38 of these cases. Of the nine coroners that have been investigated, two are caused directly by mephedrone. The first death reportedly caused by the use of mephedrone is that of 46 years, John Sterling Smith, who has underlying health problems and repeatedly injects the drug. A report in Forensic Science International in August 2010 claimed mephedrone poisoning had been recorded as the cause of death in two cases in Scotland. Post mortem samples showed their mephedrone concentration in blood was 22 mg/L in one case and 3.3 mg/L in one other case. The death of a teenager in Britain in November 2009 was widely reported as being caused by mephedrone, but a report by the coroner concluded he had died of natural causes. In March 2010, the deaths of two teenagers at Scunthorpe were widely reported by the media caused by mephedrone. Toxicology reports show teenagers do not take mephedrone and have died from consuming alcohol and heroin substitute methadone. According to Fiona Measham, a criminologist who is a member of the ACMD, unpublished death reporting by newspapers follows the "abnormal" excessive cycle, distortion, inaccuracy and sensationalism "associated with reporting drug use.
United States
Mephedrone has been involved in the death of a 22-year-old man, who also injected heroin black tar. Mephedrone was found in the blood at concentrations of 0.50 mg/L and in urine at concentrations of 198 mg/L. The concentration of blood morphine, heroin metabolite, was 0.06 mg/L. By comparison, the mean blood morphine concentration resulting from overdose lethal only involves heroin around 0.34 mg/L.
Pharmacology
Pharmacodynamics
Mephedrone is a monoamina release agent. This is a chiral compound and the two enantiomers show the same potential as a substrate on the dopamine carrier. R -Mephedrone is far less powerful than S -mephedrone as a substrate in serotonin transporter.
Keto oxygen makes mephedrone more hydrophilic than suitable methylamphetamines, which may explain the higher doses required to achieve the same effect, since mephedrone is less able to cross the blood-brain barrier.
Mephedrone is often consumed with alcohol. A study in rats investigated the association between these two substances, focusing on the psychostimulant and beneficial properties of mephedrone. It was found that at low doses (non stimulants) alcohol significantly increased the psychostimulant effect of mephedrone. This effect is mediated by increased synaptic dopamine, such as haloperidol, but not ketanserin, capable of blocking potentiation by alcohol. Similarly, the beneficial properties of mephedrone are enhanced by low doses of alcohol.
Pharmacokinetics
Several articles published at the end of 2011 examined the effects of mephedrone, compared with the same MDMA and amphetamine drugs in ratus nucleus accumbens, and examined the potential of mephedrone boosters. Dopamine and serotonin were collected using microdialysis, and increased dopamine and serotonin were measured using HPLC. Gifts and drug search are associated with increased dopamine concentrations in the nucleus accumbens, and drug particles also play a role in drug search. Based on histological examination, most of the author's probes are in the shell nucleus accumbens. Giving mephedrone causes a 500% increase in dopamine, and about 950% increase in serotonin. They reached their peak concentrations at 40 minutes and 20 minutes, respectively, and returned to baseline with 120 minutes after injection. In comparison, MDMA causes an increase of about 900% serotonin at 40 minutes, with an insignificant increase in dopamine. Administration of amphetamines resulted in a 400% increase in dopamine, peaking at 40 minutes, with an insignificant increase in serotonin. Analysis of the ratio of AUC to dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) showed mephedrone is preferably a serotonin releaser, with a ratio of 1.22: 1 (serotonin vs. dopamine). In addition, half-life for DA and 5-HT reduction were calculated for each drug. Mephedrone has a decay rate of 24.5 minutes and 25.5 minutes respectively. MDMA had decay values ​​of 302.5 minutes and 47.9 minutes, respectively, while the amphetamine values ​​were 51 minutes and 84.1 minutes, respectively. Taken together, these findings suggest mephedrone induces a large increase in DA and 5-HT, combined with rapid clearance. The rapid rise and fall of the next DA level can explain some of the addictive properties of mephedrone displaying in some users.
Metabolism
Based on mouse and human urine analysis with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, mephedrone is considered metabolized by three phase 1 phases. Can be methylated to primary amine (yielding compounds 2, 3 and 5), the group of ketones can be reduced (yield 3) or tolyl groups can be oxidized (yielding 6). Both 5 and 6 are further estimated to be metabolized by conjugation to glucuronide and sulfate derivatives. Knowledge of the main route of metabolism should allow the intake of mephedrone to be confirmed by drug testing, as well as more accurate determination of the causes of side effects and potential toxicity.
Detection in body fluids
Mephedrone can be quantified in blood, plasma or urine by gas chromatography spectrometry or liquid chromatography mass spectrometry to confirm the diagnosis of poisoning in hospitalized patients or to provide evidence in the investigation of medicolegal death. The concentration of blood or plasma mephedrone is expected to be in the range of 50-100 g/l in people taking recreational drugs, & gt; 100? G/l in drunk patients and & gt; 500? G/l in victims of acute overdose.
Chemistry
Appearance and smell
Mephedrone is a white substance. It is sold most often as a crystal or powder, but also in capsule or pill form. It can have a distinctive odor, reportedly ranging from vanilla odor and bleach, stale urine, or electrical circuit boards.
Synthesis
Mephedrone can be synthesized in several ways. The simplest method, given the availability of the compound, is to add 4-methylpropiofenone dissolved in glacial acetic acid to bromine, creating a 4'-methyl-2-bromopropiofenone oil fraction. The oil fraction can then be dissolved in dichloromethane (CH 2 Cl 2 ) and drops of solution added to another solution CH 2 Cl 2 -contains methylamine hydrochloride and triethylamine. The hydrochloric acid (HCl) is then added and the aqueous layer is removed and converted to base using sodium hydroxide before the amine is extracted using CH 2 Cl 2 . CH 2 Cl 2 then evaporated using a vacuum, creating an oil which is then dissolved in a non-aqueous ether. Finally, HCl gas is bubbled through the mixture to produce 4-methylmethcathinone hydrochloride. This method produces an enantiomeric mixture and requires the same knowledge required to synthesize amphetamines and MDMA.
It can also be produced by oxidizing 4-methylephedrine analog ephedrine using potassium permanganate dissolved in sulfuric acid. Since 4-methylephedrine can be obtained in a specific enantiomer, mephedrone comprising only one enantiomer can be produced. The danger associated with this method is that it can cause manganese toxicity if the product is not properly purified.
Analysis
Mephedrone does not react with most of the reagent testing apparatus. The exception is the Liebermann reagent, which gives a bright yellow reaction.
History
Mephedrone is one of the hundreds of designer or legal drugs highest reported in recent years, including artificial chemicals such as synthetic marijuana and semisynthetic substances such as methylhexanamine. These drugs are mainly developed to avoid being controlled by laws against illegal drugs, thus giving them the label of designer medicine. According to the European Center for Drug and Drug Control, mephedrone synthesis was first reported in 1929 by Saem de Burnaga Sanchez in the Bulletin de la Socià © Chimique de France, under the name "toluyl-alpha-monomethylaminoethylcetone" but this compound remained an obscure product of the academia until 2003, when it was "rediscovered" and published by underground chemists on the Hive website, working under the pen name "Kinetik". Kinetik posted on the site, "I've been bored for the last few days and have some nice reagents around, so I thought I'd try and make some 1- (4-methylphenyl) -2-methylaminopropanone hydrochloride, or 4-methylmethcathinone." goes on to illustrate that after retrieving it, the user has a "tremendous sense of well-being that I have not gotten from any medication before except my beloved Ecstasy." In the interview Kinetic is described as "a mathematician who used to design sleeping pills for big pharmaceutical companies" and he stated that he was based in Israel when he rediscovered mephedrone.
Drugs similar to mephedrone, containing cathinone, were sold legally in Israel from about 2004, under the name hagigat . When this is made illegal, cathinone is modified and new products are sold by Israeli company Neorganics. The product has a name like the Neodoves pill, but its range was suspended in January 2008 after the Israeli government made an illegal mephedrone. The Psychonaut Research Project, an EU organization searching the internet for information on new drugs, identified mephedrone in 2008. Their study suggested the drug was first available for purchase on the internet in 2007, when it was also discussed on internet forums. Mephedrone was first confiscated in France in May 2007, after police sent a tablet that they considered ecstasy to be analyzed, with an invention published in a paper entitled "What is 4-methylephedrone, a" Ecstasy "of the twenty-first century? Mephedrone is reported to have been sold as an ecstasy in the Australian city of Cairns, along with ethylcathinone, in 2008. The annual survey of regular Ecstasy users in Australia in 2010 found 21% of those surveyed had used mephedrone, with 17% having done so in the previous six months. The price they pay per gram varies from A $ 16 to $ 320.
Europol noted they realized it in 2008, having found in Denmark, Finland and the UK. The Drug Enforcement Administration noted it was present in the United States in July 2009. In May 2010, mephedrone was detected in all 22 EU member states reported to Europol, as well as in Croatia and Norway. The Daily Telegraph reported in April 2009 that it was manufactured in China, but has since been illegally made there. In March 2009, Druglink magazine reported that it was only "a few hundred pounds" to synthesize a kilogram of mephedrone; the same month, The Daily Telegraph reported that producers made "large quantities money "from selling it. In January 2010, Druglink magazine reported that dealers in Britain spent Ã, Â £ 2,500 to send a kilogram from China, but could sell it for Ã, Â £ 10 per gram, generating profits of Ã, Â £ 7,500. A later report, in March 2010, stated the wholesale price of mephedrone was Ã, Â £ 4000 per kilogram.
In March 2011, the International Narcotics Control Board published a report on designer drugs, noting that mephedrone was then used in recreation in Europe, North America, Southeast Asia, New Zealand and Australia.
United Kingdom
Between the summer of 2009 and March 2010, the use of mephedrone grew rapidly in the UK, with it becoming available at music festivals, head shops and on the internet. A survey of Mixmag readers in 2009 found it was the fourth most popular street drug in Britain, behind marijuana, cocaine, and ecstasy. The drug is used by various social groups. While the evidence is anecdotal, researchers, charity workers, teachers and users report widespread and increasing drug use in 2009. The rapid growth of this drug in popularity is believed to be related to its availability and legality.
Fiona Measham, a criminologist at The University of Lancaster, thinks the rise of mephedrone is also associated with reduced purity of ecstasy and cocaine sold in the UK, a view reinforced in a report by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse. The average cocaine purity dropped from 60% in 1999 to 22% in 2009 and about half of Ecstasy pills seized in 2009 did not contain MDMA, and by June 2010 almost all Ecstasy pills seized in the UK did not contain MDMA. A similar pattern was observed in the Netherlands, with the number of ecstasy tablets that did not contain MDMA increased from 10% in mid 2008 to 60% by mid-2009, with mephedrone detected in 20% of ecstasy tablets by mid-2009. The decline of MDMA was considered in part due to the seizure of 33 tonnes of oil sassafras, the predecessor of MDMA, in Cambodia in June 2008, which could be used to make 245 million MDMA doses. According to John Ramsey, a toxicologist at St. George's, University of London, the emergence of mephedrone was also linked to the British government which banned benzylpiperazine drugs in December 2009. gamma -Butyrolactone (GBL), "legal law" previously, was also banned in August 2009 despite fears of being replaced by other drugs.
In December 2009, mephedrone was available on at least 31 UK-based websites and by March 2010 there were at least 78 online stores, half of which were sold for less than 200 grams and half were also sold in large quantities. Prices per gram vary from Ã, Â £ 9.50 to Ã, Â £ 14. Between July 2009 and February 2010, UK health experts accessed the National Poison Information service ' s (NPIS) on mephedrone 1664 times and make 157 questions over the phone; demand increased month by month during this period. By comparison, over the same time period, entries for cocaine and MDMA are accessed approximately 2400 times. After mephedrone was made illegal, the number of inquiries to the NPIS dropped substantially, to only 19 in June 2010.
Media organizations including the BBC and The Guardian incorrectly reported mephedrone is usually used as plant fertilizer. Even drug sellers describe it as "plant-based" because it is illegal to sell the compound for human consumption. At the end of 2009 British newspapers started referring to drugs as meow or miaow (sometimes duplicated as meow meow or miaow miaow ), a name almost unknown in the street at the time. In November 2009, the tabloid newspaper The Sun published a story stating that a man had torn his own scrotum while using mephedrone. The story later proved to be an online joke posted on mephedrone.com, then put in a police report with a warning that it could be unreliable. The police report is used as the source for the story at The Sun . Another commonly repeated myth of media during 2010 is that mephedrone has caused the deaths of more than 20 people, teachers can not seize drugs from students and the government is too slow to ban the drug. Parallels was taken between media coverage of a mephedrone and a satire piece by Chris Morris in 1997 on Brass Eye when he deceived public figures to talk about the dangers of taking a fictional "cake" of fictitious law. Advisory Council for Drug Abuse (ACMD) states that media coverage of the drug causes an increase in its use. Jon Silverman, a former BBC Home Affairs Correspondent, has written two articles that discuss how media have a strong influence on UK government drug policy, especially in the case of governments wanting to show they are "hard" to drugs.
A survey of 1,000 high school and college students at Tayside conducted in February 2010 found 20% of them had previously taken mephedrone. While it is legally available over the internet, only 10% of users report online purchases, with most purchases from street vendors. Of those who have used mephedrone, 97% say it's easy or very easy to come by. About 50% of users report at least one negative effect associated with the use of mephedrone, which is the most common grinding of teeth. Detailed interviews with users in Northern Ireland have also found that few buy mephedrone online, with most sources citing concerns that their address will be traced or family members can intercept the package.
On March 30, 2010, Alan Johnson, Minister of the Interior, announced mephedrone would be made illegal "within a few weeks" after the ACMD sent him a report on the use of cathinones. The law will make all cathinones illegal, which Johnson says will "stop unscrupulous producers and others peddling different but equally dangerous drugs". ACMD has been having problems with the British Government in 2009 on drug policy, after the government did not follow ACMD's suggestion to reclassify ecstasy and marijuana, culminating in the dismissal of ACMD chairman David Nutt, after he reaffirmed the ACMD findings in academic lectures. Several members resigned after he was dismissed, and before the announcement that mephedrone would be banned, the trend continued when Dr Polly Taylor resigned, saying he "lacked confidence" in the way the government would use the advice given by ACMD.. Eric Carlin, a member of ACMD and former chairman of the British Drug Education Forum, also resigned after the announcement. He said the decision by the Minister of the Interior was "too based on media and political pressure" and there was "little or no discussion of how our recommendations to classify these drugs would likely have an impact on youth behavior." Several former ACMD members and various charity groups expressed concern over the ban, arguing that it would criminalize users, especially young people. Others expressed concern that the drug would be left in the hands of black market merchants, which would only add to the problem. Carlin's resignation was specifically related to the criminalization of mephedrone, he stated: "We need to review our whole approach to drugs, throwing the idea that legally sanctioned punishment for drug users should be a major part of the arsenal in helping solve our country. We must stop harming people who need help and support ".
The parliamentary debate was held on April 8, one day after the 2010 general election has been announced, meaning during the "washing period" when legislation is passed with little supervision. Only one hour was spent debating the ban and the three parties agreed, meaning no sound was needed. In an interview conducted in July 2010, when he was no longer a minister, Johnson acknowledged the decision to ban mephedrone accelerated after widespread reporting of deaths caused by drugs, and because the government wanted to pass the law before parliament was dissolved prior to the general election to be come. In January 2011, however, Johnson told Scunthorpe Telegraph that the decision was based solely on information from ACMD. An editorial in the April 2010 edition of The Lancet questioned the decision to ban mephedrone, saying the ACMD did not have enough evidence to assess the potential dangers caused by mephedrone and on the grounds that policymakers should seek to understand why young people take it and how they can be influenced not to accept it. Evan Harris, a Liberal Democrat science spokesman, stated that ACMD is "not" legally established "" as required by the Drug Abuse Act, when reports about cathinones are published, because after Taylor resigns, he has no veterinarian. In the rush to make the mephedrone illegal, the action passed determines the inactive mephedrone enantiomer, leaving the legal active form until the gap is closed in February 2011 by another act of parliament. At Chemistry World, John Mann, professor of chemistry at Queen's University Belfast, suggested that Britain draft a law similar to the Federal Analog Act of the United States, which would make illegal mephedrone an analog cathinone. In August 2010, James Brokenshire, the Home Office's remedial minister, announced plans to create a new category in Drug Abuse Act, through Police Reform and Social Responsibility, which would allow for a new legal rally to be temporarily illegal, without the need to vote at parliament or advice from ACMD, as is necessary to categorize mephedrone.
According to the Independent Scientific Committee for Drugs, after mephedrone was made illegal, street drug trade emerged, at a price about twice before the ban, at £ 20-25 per gram. In September 2010, Druglink reported that the ban had a mixed effect on the use of mephedrone, with a decrease in some areas, remained similar in others and became more common in some areas. In an online survey of 150 users after the ban, 63% said they continued using mephedrone, half of them using the same amount and half said they were using less. Compared to previous surveys, more users bought them from dealers than on the internet. The average price per gram is Ã, Â £ 16, compared to about Ã, Â £ 10 before the ban. Surveys 2010 Mixmag of 2,500 nightclubbers found a quarter had used mephedrone in the previous month, the price had been about double since it was made illegal, and it was more likely to be cut with other substances. Of those who have used mephedrone before the ban, 75% continue to use it after the ban. Of the various drugs used by survey participants, users are more likely to have concerns about it. Interviews with users in Northern Ireland also found that the price had doubled because it was made illegal, being around £ 30 per gram. Instead of rising prices due to increased drug scarcity, it is estimated to have increased for two other reasons. First, dealers know that there is still demand for mephedrone, but they are aware that their inventory may be depleted in the future. Second, traders feel that customers tend to be willing to pay more for illegal substances.
Professor Shiela Bird, a statistician at the Medical Research Council, suggested a ban on mephedrone could lead to more cocaine-related deaths. In the first six months of 2009, the number of cocaine-related deaths dropped for the first time in four years, and fewer soldiers tested positive for cocaine in 2009 than in 2008. He suggested this may be because users switched to mephedrone from cocaine, but warned that before Full figures are available for 2009 and 2010, it will be difficult to determine whether mephedrone saves lives, rather than sacrificing them. Other illegal drugs have filled the void in the market since mephedrone was made illegal, including naphyrone (NRG-1) (since made illegal) and Ivory Wave, which was found to contain MDPV, a compound made illegally at the same time mephedrone. However, some branded products such as Ivory Wave may not contain MDPV. When tested, some products sold six weeks after mephedrone were banned, advertised as NRG-1, NRG-2 and MDAI, were found to be mephedrone. Drugscope surveys of drug workers by the end of 2012 report that mephedrone use is still widespread in the UK and there are increasing reports of troubled users. It was taken not only as "poor cocaine" but also among heroin and cocaine users. Intravenous use cases have also been reported to increase.
Society and culture
Legal status
When mephedrone was rediscovered in 2003, it was not specifically illegal to be owned in any country. As its use has increased, many countries have passed laws that make ownership, sale and manufacture illegal. It was first made illegal in Israel, where it had been found in products such as Neodoves pills, in January 2008. After the death of a young woman in Sweden in December 2008 was associated with the use of mephedrone, it was classified as dangerous substance a few days later, making it illegal for sale in Sweden. In June 2009, classified as narcotics with ownership of 15 grams or more resulted in at least two years in prison - a longer penalty, grams for grams than those granted for possession of cocaine or heroin. In December 2008, Denmark also made it illegal and through the Finnish Drug Act, it was made illegal to own without a prescription. In November 2009, it was classified as a "narcotic or psychotropic substance" and added to the list of controlled substances in Estonia and made illegal to be imported into Guernsey along with other supreme laws, before being classified as Class B drugs in April 2010. It was classified as Class C drugs in Jersey in December 2009.
In 2010, as its use became more common, many states passed a law banning mephedrone. It became illegal in Croatia and Germany in January, followed by Romania and the Isle of Man in February. In March 2010, it was classified as an unregulated drug in the Netherlands, making sales and distribution illegal. Imports of mephedrone to Britain were banned on March 29, 2010. The following day, the ACMD in the UK published a report on cathinone, including mephedrone, and recommended they were classified as Class B drugs. On April 7, 2010, Drug Abuse Act 1971 (Amendment) Order 2010 endorsed by parliament, making other substituted mephedrone and cathinones, Class B drugs from April 16, 2010. Before the ban was enacted, mephedrone was not covered by Abuse. Drug Act 1971. Nonetheless, it is a violation under the Drug Act to sell it for human consumption, so it is often sold as "plant-based" or "bath salt", although not used as this product; this, too, may be illegal under the 1968 Trade Description Act. In the US, similar descriptions have been used to describe mephedrone, as well as methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV). In May 2010, the Republic of Ireland made an illegal mephedrone, followed by Belgium, Italy, Lithuania, France and Norway in June and Russia in July. In August 2010, Austria and Poland made it illegal and China announced it would be illegal on September 1, 2010. Mephedrone was reportedly used in Singapore in February 2010, but was made illegal in November 2010. In December 2010, following suggestions from EMCDDA, mephedrone made illegal throughout the EU, a Swiss move was also made shortly thereafter. Countries that have not banned them, such as the Netherlands, Greece and Portugal, need to amend the law to comply with the EU verdict. In Hungary, the government advisory body recommended mephedrone should be made illegal in August 2010, which followed, making it illegal in January 2011; Spain followed in February 2011. Mexico, by decision, prohibits mephedrone as a substance "with low or no therapeutical use that poses a serious threat to public health" by 2014.
In some countries, mephedrone is not specifically listed as illegal, but is controlled under legislation that makes the compounds illegal if they are analog drugs already registered. In Australia during 2010, it was not specifically listed as banned, but the Australian Federal Police stated it was analogous to methcathinone and therefore illegal. It is now listed as a Schedule 9 substance in Australia under Poison Standard (October 2015). The substance of Schedule 9 is substances that may be misused or abused, manufactured, possessed, sold or used that must be prohibited by law except where necessary for medical or scientific research, or for analytical, teaching or training purposes with the consent of the Commonwealth and/or State Health Authorities or Territory. In February 2010, 22 people were arrested in connection with importing mephedrone. In January 2011, every state in Australia, other than Victoria, has listed it as a controlled drug.
In New Zealand, it is not included in the Drug Abuse Act of 1975, but is illegal, as it is similar to a controlled substance.
In Canada, mephedrone is not explicitly contained in the Schedule of Controlled Drugs and Ordinances, but "amphetamines, salts, derivatives, isomers and analogues and their derivatives, isomers and analogues" are included in Section 19 of Schedule I of acting. Cathinone and methcathinone are listed in a separate section of Schedule III, while diethylpropion and pyrovalerone (also cathinon), are listed in separate sections of Schedule IV, each with no language to capture analogs, isomers, etc. Mephedrone is considered a substance controlled by Health Canada. According to the Canadian Medical Association, mephedrone is grouped with other amphetamines as Schedule I controlled substances. There have been several media reports of Canadian police capturing mephedrone. Mephedrone is also currently scheduled in the United States in 2011. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) states, as an analog methcathinone, ownership of mephedrone can be controlled by the Federal Analog Act, but according to the Los Angeles Times this is valid only if sold for human consumption. Several cities and states, such as New York state, have passed laws to specifically include mephedrone as illegal, but in most areas it remains legal, provided it is not sold for human consumption, the retailer describes it as 'bath salts'. In September 2011, the DEA began using emergency scheduling authorities to temporarily control mephedrone. Unless authorized by law, this act is done by owning and selling mephedrone or products containing it illegally in the US for at least a year while the DEA and the United States Department of Health and Human Services undertake further studies. The control of this compound becomes permanent on July 9, 2012, through part of the Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 2012.
Usage
A survey conducted in late 2009 by the National Addiction Center (UK) found 41.3% of Mixmag readers had used mephedrone last month, making it the fourth most popular drug among clubbers. Of those, two-thirds grunted the drug and the median dose per session was 0.9 g; the length of the session increases as the dose increases. Users who snorted the drug reported using more per session than those who took it orally (0.97 g compared to 0.74 g) and also reported using it more often (five days per month compared to three days per month). An Irish study of people on a methadone treatment program for heroin addicts found 29 out of 209 patients tested positive for mephedrone.
Hazard ratings
Professor David Nutt, former chair of the Advisory Council for Drug Abuse (ACMD) in Britain said, "people are better off taking ecstasy or amphetamines than those who do not know anything about" and "Who knows what's in [mephedrone] when you We did not have a test system that could be very dangerous, we just do not know.These chemicals were never put into animals, let alone humans. "Les King, a former ACMD member, has stated that mephedrone seems less efficacious than amphetamines and ecstasy, but any benefits associated with this can be eliminated by users taking larger amounts. He also told the BBC, "all we can say is [mephedrone] may be as dangerous as ecstasy and amphetamines and wait until we have better scientific evidence to support that."
See also
References
External links
- European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (2011). Report on the risk assessment of mephedrone within the framework of the Council's Decree on new psychoactive substances (Reports). doi: 10.2810/40800.
- Erowid 4-Methylmethcathinone Vault
- Mephedrone - Frequently asked questions www.lifeline.org.uk
- Daily Podcast Guardian: How dangerous is mephedrone?
- ChemSub Online: Mephedrone
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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