I don’t know how much people outside “the industry” have heard about mephedrone, but by all accounts, it’s exploded in popularity over the past few months. In the last three months, there’s been at least 50 news stories reposted to Drugs-Forum on the topic, and probably quite a few more that haven’t been picked up. We’ve got reports of teens dying, 11 year olds taking the stuff and a guy ripping his balls off — all the classic examples of the media whipping up an unnecessary (and untrue) shit storm. I’ve also read lots of anecdotes about the drug’s prevalence among students, friendship groups and even dealers of illegal drugs (points for diversification!). Since my articles on JWH-018 have been reasonably popular and stimulated some interesting discussion, I felt it was about time we gave mephedrone the same treatment.
The Basics
Mephedrone is not only cheap and legal, but it’s also incredibly effective. It’s a short-acting stimulant that feels something like a mixture of cocaine and ecstasy. If that wasn’t enough to explain its popularity, then the icing on the cake is the almost complete lack of a comedown the next day when used in moderation. Purities of over 99% make another great selling point when compared with similar illegal drugs.
Mephedrone is a white, crystalline powder with little to no smell. The term “Mephedrone” comes from methyl–ephedrone, describing the chemical structure. Other names for it include:
- 4-MethylMethCathinone (methcathinone is another name for ephedrone)
- 4-MMC
- 4-MMCAT
- MCAT (This is incorrect, but people use it anyway)
- Meow
- Bubbles (seems to be a brand name for capsules containing it and methylone, another research chemical)
Effects include an initial euphoria, which tapers off to a milder stimulation. Mephedrone does seem to oil social situations rather well and get everyone talking, laughing and having a good time, especially during the initial euphoria. Several users have compared it to cocaine, but some how less jittery and “arrogant”, while others will compare it to a more rushy ecstasy (which has to be a good thing, given the current state of the MDMA market). Actually, the effects seem to depend very much on dose and your chosen route of administration.
The most common ways to get this stuff into your blood are snorting it and eating it. As you can probably imagine, eating it will give a longer, less intense experience, while doing lines of it will give a much shorter, more intense buzz and make you want to keep taking it, but we’ll get to that later. Oh, I should probably mention that snorting it feels not too dissimilar from being raped in the sinuses by a Portuguese Man o’ War, particularly for your first line.
Other reported methods of administration include shoving it up your arse, requiring less than an oral dose and peaking somewhere between an oral or insufflated dose, and intravenously injecting it, which apparently isn’t that great, having a similar effect profile to being snorted with a million times the risk.
Dosage
A single oral dose would typically be between 150 mg and 300 mg, while lines can range from 50 mg to a monster 150 mg rail.
Pharmacology
If only we knew! Unfortunately, no one knows anything for certain, so we’re forced to do a bit of guesswork. If it feels like a cross between MDMA and cocaine, then we can assume that there’s some serotonin and dopamine involvement. The apparent addictiveness of mephedrone (more on that later, srsly), along with talkativeness also points to dopamine pathways, while the similarity of some side effects compared with serotonin depletion (taking too much MDMA or abruptly discontinuing selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors [SSRIs]) points to the serotonin pathways.
I would love some more information on this, so if you ever come across anything in the future, please report back!
Misconceptions
There are a number of misconceptions surrounding mephedrone, which we should clear up:
Legal does not mean safe
While it seems that users can take vast quantities of the stuff and still function, we don’t know what the long term effects of mephedrone use will entail. A handful of people have died from taking it too. While the number is tiny compared with alcohol, it’s still always a good thing to remember.
Purity isn’t necessarily accurate
Mephedrone bought online will certainly be purer than illegal drugs bought on the street, but claims of 99.9% purity may not be true. Since it’s not sold for human consumption (like everything legal and fun), I’m not sure an accurate purity measure is required. Also, that 0.01% could be some deadly poison. It probably won’t be, but it might!
“Plant Food” might not be mephedrone
Lots of those news stories I’ve mentioned above have listed a million different “street names” for this drug, including “Plant Food”. No one is actually calling it plant food, it’s just how it, and lots of other compounds like it, are sold. If you’ve obtained anything psychoactive packaged as plant food, make sure you know what the hell it is you’re taking!
Side Effects
Side effects can be many and varied, some serious and some not. Mephedrone shares a number of the typical side effects you’d expect to find with any stimulant, such as:
- Increased heart rate (tachycardia)
- Raised blood pressure (hypertension)
- Not wanting to sleep (insomnia)
- Not wanting to eat (anorexia)
- Chewing/grinding teeth (bruxism)
- Moving your eyes loads (nystagmus)
More mephedrone-specific, and so perhaps more serious side effects include
- Turning blue at the extremities & feeling cold (vasoconstriction)
- Pains in the chest, throat and nose
- Nosebleeds when snorted, especially with prolonged or frequent use
The more you use, the more the side effects become apparent and the initial pleasant effects diminish. Also, significant evidence is coming forward suggesting circulation issues are not just vasoconstriction, but something more serious — autoimmune vasculitis, where the immune system attacks your own body. This would seem to account for some of the odd and infrequent side effects, such as bruising or turning blue at the joints. Current reports suggest that this isn’t an issue of a dodgy supply for some people compared with the rest, but rather a small percentage of the population are at risk, probably because of some genetic differences. If you’ve noticed this, stop taking mephedrone! This condition will only get worse the more you consume. Add to that the usual stimulant-induced vasoconstriction, and you could find yourself with some serious problems.
Warning
Mephedrone can be addictive!
- It’s easy to have several large sessions per week because of the cheapness and lack of comedown. Several people have reported taking over 20g per month.
- It’s easy to keep taking it, especially when snorted, so a single line can turn into 5g session easily if you lack self control. There have been a few reports of people taking 5-7g over a 48 hour long single session.
- Tolerance can also develop, so more is required for the same effect.
Safe Usage Tips
Mephedrone is not 100% safe, but then again, nothing is. To make sure you’re as safe as possible, here are a few tips:
- Don’t buy it in bulk — 80% of people won’t be able to resist the charms of a massive bag of the stuff. Sure, you may save a few quid on the gram, but if your consumption sky-rockets, you’re not saving anything.
- If you do buy in bulk, limit yourself — it’s all too easy to “just have one more line”, so perhaps let your friend look after your supply for you, or if you’re going out, take a predetermined quantity out with you and stick to it.
- Don’t snort it if you think there’s any chance you will become addicted to it — this route of administration makes you want to keep on taking it much more than an oral dose, despite the snotty nose and watering eyes.
- Eat healthily before and after — your body needs a good supply of nutrients, vitamins, etc to stay healthy and replenish your neurotransmitters. Forcing yourself to eat, especially during long binges, is essential. At least munch some vitamin tablets or something.
- Take some magnesium supplements — this helps relax your muscles and stop all the jaw clenching and chewing that goes with most stimulants.
- If you’re going to snort it, blow your nose soon after to clear out any powder — drugs aren’t absorbed from your nostrils, so you want to get rid of it. I’d also suggest giving your nose a wash with either a spray bottle and some water, or by cramming some wet tissue up there with your head tilted back.
mephadrone is not mdma!! stay away from this shit,fucks u up..dont give to a pregnant women,thats just stupid :S this stuff fucks your mind up,deletes memory,makes u paro and so on,STAY AWAY
My fiancé took this bath salt crap and freaked the fuck out. He was dillusional, paranoid, and hallusinated. He was talking to people that werent there. He made up a dillusion that was screwing someone else. Knocked on all the neighbors doors and asked if they had information about me. he wrecked his grandpa car. wanted to fight his aunt. The cops put handcuffs on him and admitted him into the hospital. He had bad dehydration and had to have fluids pumped into him. They let him out and he came home to tortore me some more. Thinking there was som,eone in the house. He absolutely insane. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS TO MY WORST ENEMY!!!!!! I took me and my kids out of that situation. If we satyed who knows what he wouldve done to us.
This was drug was made but EVIL!!!!!
Its better and stronger then anything out there.
The it takes days to come down an the lack of sleep
leads to crazy thoughts and sightings
Might be worth noting that a lot of people are taking what they believe is 4-MMC (mephedrone) and its is actually something quite different. Since made illegal in UK last year I have come across drugs on many occasions claiming to be meph but that are completely different compounds. At best a small amount of 4-MMC that has been cut with God knows what.
i think its aload of rubbish how people are saying that it isn’t dangerouse as ie had a few bad experiences„ ive recently had a baby so i stopped taking it for about 14 month as i was pregnant obviousley lol.…but anyway b4 i had my little girl nd found out i was pregnant i was bad on the drug me and my friend would sit in my flat for about a week taking this drug not een realising the days were going by we would think it was still the same day as when we had started the sessions. a couple of my friends did not have any side effects while a few did including myself„ there was some people that would hallusinate of it ranging rite up to people having fits of it 1 of them people being me i have now had two critical fits off of it and this is no lie the irst and second time i nearly died i also lost my memory of a few things including remembering who my partner also my babys father was.……i also used to twitch„„ enough to make me all over it is not a safe drug!!!!!!!! so who ever is reading this now if you hae not tried the drug and are thinking about it i strongly advise you DONT TOUCH IT!!! dont even asociate with people who is taking it because trust me you WILL end up trying it and like it says above if your sniffing it u will more than likely keep taking it as it is verry addictie and hard to stop.……im not been a hipocrit as i have done this but im trying to advise you id stick to coke and pills their dangerouse but alot safer than this.…also me and my partner have both had lethal chest and heart pains since stopping taking this shiteee just a word of advise stay well away coz no matter what ya have read up there it is DANGEROUSE and ILLEGAL now as it has killed allooootttt of people my baby has changed my opinion about taking this as b4 i had her i was bang on it i mean me n my friends were going through approx like 20gram in 2 nites and still taking more or about another 3 – 4 days n nites nott good im supprised im not dead haa any way oer and out!!!!!!!!!!! p.s really think about what ive said if ya got people to stick around for dont take it pleaseeeeee.…thanks for reading.
i agree with the last couple of people up there it is crazyy shit.…i have tripped off it loadsa time and got so paranoid nearly chinned ma best mate coz i convinced ma sen she had slept with my fiancé.…i would take the piss out of my close friends so much to make them cry also i wouls smash my house up and be a total nob head to my partner to the extent of throwin glasses and plates at him even self harmming i really lost the plot and i dragged my sel out o that hole ans sorted my head out i did loose my memory of who people were and what they were doing in my house and stuff it is fuking the devils drug!!!!!
These rants about the dangers of mephedrione are extremely boring and miss the whole point of this site which us about harm reduction.
If you are sooo stupid and undisciplined as to take any drugs to excess when you are pregnant or have personal problems or an addictive personality you are gonna get fucked up.…ban this one or ban that one.…. a moron will find something else or mebbe alcohol or junk food or whatever to destroy their health!
If you are gonna leave illiterate comments at least read the great advice on this site first
I seldom leave comment on sites about my recreational activities, but having read some of the other comments I simply have to.
If this were any other important topic would you take advice from people above based on their spelling and grammar?
I have taken Mephedrone and loved it, but it’s like many things. Obsessive people will obsess on it, idiots will do stupid things on it and sensible people will be sensible about it. I don’t down a bottle of whiskey and then blame alcohol if I have an accident! To stay up for days without sleep on it and think it’s a hallucinogen does say something about you. Lack of sleep will do that too you. It’s like blaming your car for bad cornering but you were going 200mph or using sharp knives when you are drunk. It’s not the knives fault you were being an idiot. People like this give fuel to the media and spoil it for everyone, including themselves, because people who have never taken anything think that some substances can make a person do anything when in actual fact those types of people would do the same things sober given half a chance.
I have taken many types of drugs hundreds of times with many friends, I’m almost middle aged, have three houses and a Porsche. DRUGS DO NOT RUIN PEOPLES LIVES, take some responsibility for your life!
I’m not saying there are no risks, there are, just like driving or the shops or taking flu medicine, I’d bet most of these narcotics have been ‘tested’ by many more people than any drug trails every Saturday night.
Or don’t listen to me, take advice from some of the above people who can’t even spell.
Real good definitions, I’m on it now and it’s pretty accurate. Just a question, why does my knob shrivel like on MDMA. I wanna bone a lass later but I’m not sure I could lol
No matter, Viagra to the rescue haha
methedrone also known as bubble is a horrible drug. its horrible going up your nose it burns, it tastes horrible, you want more and more, causes alot of arguements after being on it for a while 12 hours — 24 hours. i would advise people not to touch it as it has ruined alot of things for me
very very very true..
its now illegal under class B drug..
i used to take this… its very addictive and after your first line u crave more…u soon notice ur money going down even tho it is cheap.. banging 5 – 10 G per night between 2 of us
then ringing the dealer for more.. having our last lines at 6 in the morning.. very bad indeed.. the only thing i didnt agree with was tht the article says lack of comedown… there is a big come down… u feel very chatty.. when it starts wearing off make sure u are with someone cus u will go on a downer.
Hi, I have taken alot of drugs over the years and was given 1g of methadrone. Now i used to smoke speed and i have smoked ice can i smoke methadrone? will the effects be the same as snorting or orally taking it?
if someone with bluing of the limbs (vasoconstriction) when they stop mephedrone will they be permanently damaged??
or will they gradually recover normal health??
On my daughter face book wall some guy has fitted on the stuff, they all thought he was going to die yet not one called for an ambulance, now he is said according to her wall to be sleeping it off, however he is unable to move. Does this mean he is paralized? Can m-kat cause this. Someone commented they lost their lad to m-kat, he died. Now I dont know if this guy they speak of needs an ambulance. If he didnt come out of the fit, and he died, what would his drug taking companions do? Leave his flat so he would be discovered dead eventually? There is no safe in taking drugs, sorry, there is not. Surely to magnify the dangers and the fact this drug has already been responsible for deaths in UK and other countries proves this.
I did a rap song about C0matose candy on youtube check it out @ peeman813 leave a massege tell mee how you like it
people should not use it because it is bad for you and i have had 3 people that i was close to die from it so sont do it it will ruin your loved ones lifes
This drug is fairly intense i’m not going to lie. How it works is — it emptys the holder of endorphines in your body (this is why you feel so happy) it can take up to 3 months for all these endorphines to be replaced thats why it can cause depression. It’s proven to be more addictive than crack but easier to get off (obviously) i’ve just started doing it and love it ! I do hate somethings about it though for example, when you’ve run out you feel like crap and all you can think about is getting more. Also as you do more of it in one session it gets harder to actually absorb it for example on thursday i took 4 grams and at about 3 am i picked up another gram but because of how fucked up my nose was it was quite bleak. To finsh off i do really like this drug it’s deffinatly something to try it’s like a cheap Mdma for £20 a gram you can’t really go wrong. Although i have stopped doing it for a while due to it’s highly addictive features.
All my familys at a funeral today — after a really cool guy started taking this — He killed his dad and strangled his mum (she survived)- now hes in an instituion — DONT USE.
I am a 22 year old female student in the summer of 2010 went to Ibiza for 4 months and tried drugs for the 1st time: pills, coke, ket and this meow! I took meow for 2 months solid whilst there personally i enjoyed the buzz it gave me and i thought the high i got was better than that of cocaine and found it safer than mdma which sent me crazy! So whilst in ibiza I was going through 1-2g a day of meow a day and taken it for days on end i wasn’t eating or sleeping for days and yeah i was chatty but could still work fine when on it (i worked in a night club) i just seemed happy, alert and quick to others but people started to think i was going a little crazy. I did start to feel a bit strange on it and freak out a bit but that’s from lack of sleep and i was taken it every day for weeks! I would be on 3 day benders attending parties and meeting people but would forgot were i had been, forget the characters names and what they looked like even though i had spent the last 24 hours or so in their company! Toward the end of this 2 month binge i did have one occasion i felt paralysed were i was trying to speak and move and i couldn’t however this only lasted for 2 minutes. When i came off the drug at the end of august 2010 i had nightmares for a while but was able to stay of it although i did miss the hit. I will also say that i suffered chest pains and the mini spoon i used to snort the meow form rusted.….it rusted metal so it made me wonder what the fuck it was doing to my insides!!! Its also probarly me worth mentioning that i never really had comedowns after 4 day benders but maybe because i would be either a, spending 24hours a sleep after been awake for days or b, because i was in company who were also taking it and therefore chatting and on the same level as everyone else. However the few comedowns’ i did have were horrendous. The first was when i was with a group of friends and i felt like i had hit a brick wall and i couldn’t get any higher we were al taking it at the beach and i didn’t want to do it in front of strangers around me so had to leave and go home immediately i was freaking the fuck out. i felt paranoid and lost. The second time was when i couldn’t get in touch with my friends when I was on a buzz so spent 2 whole days in my own room crying about nothing. HORRIFIC IT WAS!
I never had the stuff for a whole year and just recently, well 2 weeks ago bought 2g which gave me 4 nights out’s worth! Like any drug it’s addictive and sure there will be side effects but in moderation i think it’s okay in moderation it can be good. When am out i know exactly what is going on around me, i seem alert and sober even though without it with that amount of alcohol i consume i would be very drunk but when i take the drug i do feel awake and am nice to everyone and not my usual drunk aggressive self. When it comes to 3am am not ready for bed so u do need someone to chat with or you get the downer. I Have not had any since the weekend and feel no need for it however if i am going on a night out i will take a few lines. With anything it is bad for u when you over do it now that goes for drugs, alcohol, smoking exercise ANYTHING! For those with a addictive personalities it would not be a good idea to take i have fell self-control now unlike i did in Ibiza and its my personal drug choice. I myself like i said is doing a business degree have a part-time job in the fashion sector and have lots of friends some who do take drugs and some that don’t but the ones that don’t i have no intensions of introducing them to drugs!
thats all just read all these posts and thought i would have my say!
Does anyone have any further information on the vasculitis issue? I developed it in january and you would not behin to beliebe the hell I am in. I.am not responding to treatments. Have been on prednisone for 10 months.My doctor is talking of chemotherapy now. Does it ever stop? Help please
I have the proof that mkat causes colds flus chest infections etc… I started taking mkat in feb last year. I took it regularly and became addicted to it fairly quickly. I took it right up until the first week of june and I wanted it all the time. I started taking more and more to get the same high. By may my body was ruined. I dropped a stone I did not eat, my body was covered in bruises by this point and I had a chest infection– coughing up mucas and finding it hard to draw breath… I was signed off by my doctor for 2 weeks from work in june 2010 to come off mkat which he said was one of the nastiness drugs he had evver dealt with… He told me to keep smoking pot even though my chest was so bad because otherwise my anxiety levels would rise… See I’ve talked about the physical effects… The mental effects were overwhelming. No motivation, selfish, desperate and “easy going” I was an oxymoran in myself… Anyway it took me two weeks off at the end of june to come off mkat… Unfotunately that’s not the end for me. 4 weeks ago I started taking mkat again. Now my throat feels like it has been split all the way down, like an open wound. My chest is so bad that its 4am and I have been awwake for 2 hours coughing up mucas. I have lost a stone in 3 weeks. I wanted to take it all the time until 2 days ago I seriously realised if I did not stop I would actually die. I am not exaggerating. My body has never felt so weak. See mkat starts as a bit of fun but you cannot control your desire for it. It will control you and it will take you over if you have any problems with substance abuse what so ever. If you can’t get through the day without a cig — DO NOT TAKE THIS DRUG. If you have ANY problems with addiction you are risking your life. My friends won’t take me seriously — then again a lot of them didn’t see how bad I was last year. And I think a lot of them are getting hooked too… I am considering leaving my home if I cannot get past this, because I am 26 years old and I want to make it to 30. Scoff all you want, think you are stronger than me — but I have taken drugs– class a’s — for nearly 12 years — sometimes for weeks on end… And I have never ever been so ill. Never. So just look after yourselves — surely there’s more beauty in the world than a few lines of what is essentially toxic glass which will rip you apart… The saddest thing for me is reading and hearing comments like “if you a re too stupid not to be able to control your addiction…” Forgive me for pointing out that you cannot control addiction. It controls you… One minute you think you are having the time of your life and the next thing you know you will look up and realise you don’t recognise anyone around you anymore. This drug is fast acting and it scares me. Please don’t scorn people for admitting they have a problem. Or you might find yourself alone when you wake up in the middle of the night bleeding from the throat… Over dramatic? Try being me for a day at the moment. You will quickly change your mind. I am not weak. I am 26 I own my own house I live alone — hell I have for years — I am a girl who keeps up with all the lads… I am not weak. I am addicted. And strong enough to admit it. So if you have been smashing this drug and you are feeling ill, mentally or physically — do not be scared to admit you need help… Beacuse the truth is? Addiction makes you want to convince people you are ok… It makes you defensive about your drug of choice and your clean friends will notice… Your friends who are mixed up in this will not — carry on the good times right? Nah be strong. Be who you are. Not what mkat makes you. Good luck to anyone that reads this and understands what I mean. Find a focus and better yourself — because that is true strength. I AM NOT WHAT YOU SAY I AM.
A lot has got to do with how sensitive you are to these things, i love cat but my one friend cant take it at all makes her feel all emotionally unstable and messed up, god knows why we react so difference to it.. Its very mild and works out very quickly. Don’t struggle to sleep at all so to me its perfect to party on, just pity you can never get high on it„, Think i just unfortunately have high drug resistance.
Finally, a real view for the population who are judging Mcat without knowing anything but what was said in a newspaper, yes, it can be dangerous, but in very, very rare cases, alcohol however kills what… 260,000 people a year, you just dont hear about it in the news… thank you!