Recently, there have been a few nasty developments in the world of legal highs. I was contacted by this week by GMTV and Radio 5 Live, asking for an interview about the “new” legal high Ivory Wave causing a stir. Unfortunately, I couldn’t give any interviews for various boring reasons and could only give a bit of advice over the phone/email, so I thought I’d write a post about it now I’ve got the time. Also, The UK’s old friend JWH-018 seems to be causing some trouble over the pond, having been linked a couple of deaths in Indiana. Finally, our government have made some more noise about the “problem” of legal highs which makes no difference for a good year or so and will only make matters worse when they manage to cobble some new legislation together eventually.

Ivory Wave

Ivory Wave has been around for at least a year, and before that, it was called Vanilla Sky. Guess what? It’s always been notoriously dodgy. In a quest to pump out the strongest ever “party powder”, its makers sacrificed safety for a marketing angle.

Earlier this year, the Irish government had a number of legal highs analysed including Ivory Wave and found that it contained MDPV (methylenedioxypyrovalerone), and lidocaine. Lidocaine is a local anaesthetic, added to numb your nose, both to dull the pain of snorting the other stuff and to make it more like cocaine. This isn’t news though – a load of similar products around before the cathinone ban contained it. MDPV on the other hand is worrying.

MDPV appears to be a dopamine and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor, delivering plenty of stimulation but little in the way of euphoria. The vast majority of similar products available before April’s cathinone ban contained either mephedrone (4-methylmethcathinone) or a fluorinated analogue such as 3-fluoroumethcathinone. While these were also very stimulating, they delivered a much loved euphoria as well, so why would the makers of Ivory Wave depart from the norm and go for a subjectively worse compound instead? Because they just weren’t potent enough enough to earn Ivory Wave its reputation as the strongest legal high available.

A typical dose of mephedrone or similar analogue for a new user would be around 50 – 100mg, while a typical dose of MDPV is around the 5 – 10mg mark. Sure, at that dose, the effects of MDPV don’t seem like much compared to mephedrone et al, but when people are used to cheap cocaine or the majority of similar legal highs, they rack up their usual sized line and hoover up far more than an equivalent dose of MDPV. As a consequence, users were frequently terrified and unable to sleep for days on end. Well done, Ivory Wave, you truly are the strongest!

On April 16th, 2010, the UK passed legislation banning a huge number of compounds, including mephedrone, all common available derivatives including MDPV and a shitload of theoretical compounds that haven’t been made yet. Despite the original incarnation of Ivory Wave falling under the banning stick, on August 10th, there was a lot of fuss about legal highs including Ivory Wave hospitalising 22 people around the Edinburgh area, so what’s going on?

Well, firstly, just because MDPV got banned, it doesn’t mean the manufacturers couldn’t stick some new legal chemical in there and call it the same thing. I’m sure you’ve all seen a packet of crisps or a chocolate bar with “New improved recipe!!!!11″ plastered all over the packaging – this is the same sort of thing. Of course, it’s not as innocent as that – these are psychoactive substances we’re talking about – but it’s nothing extraordinary. Products like Charge+ or Beanz pills have changed their ingredients before, so that’s what I expected had happened with Ivory Wave.

That doesn’t appear to be the case. Several websites selling the stuff now claim both that Ivory Wave is no longer for sale in the UK, suggesting it still contains MDPV, and that Ivory Wave found in the UK at the moment is fake. This leaves us with several possible scenarios.

1. Ivory Wave available in the UK is the same stuff it’s always been, and has been illegally imported.
2. Ivory Wave available in the UK is fake, but still contains MDPV. If this MDPV had to be illegally sourced or manufactured, it’s more likely to be impure, and these impurities are doing some damage.
3. Ivory Wave available in the UK is fake, but still a new product with new, legal and dangerous chemicals in, trying to capitalise on the original Ivory Wave’s reputation

At first glance, it looks like we can ignore the first one. If it’s been around for ages, why are we only hearing about it now? Well, before the cathinone ban, Ivory Wave was definitely the strongest, but nowhere near the most enjoyable or popular product, so people tended to steer clear of it. However, when the ban came into effect, and somehow Ivory Wave was still around,  lots of people looking to find a “mephedrone replacement” would have stumbled across it. This spike in popularity makes scenario #1 as plausible as the rest, so for now, it’s anyone’s guess.

If you find any new information making one of these scenarios more likely, please let us all know!

For now, I’d advise anyone to steer clear, especially the stuff in red foil packets as that’s the type most frequently mentioned in the myriad forum posts on the topic.

JWH-018

JWH-018 was the main synthetic cannabinoid found in Spice and similar products in the UK last year. Here’s a couple of posts and comment threads here for some background:

• JWH-018, Spice & Me
• JWH-018 Toxicology
• Synthetic Cannabinoid Discussion
• Smoking Mix Discussion

A large number of synthetic cannabinoids (along with GBL, BZP and related piperazines) were banned on December 28th, 2009, but remained legal in the US, where the market has exploded just like it did here before the – the only difference is over there, the most popular brand is K2 rather than Spice.

Well, that was the only difference until very recently. In May, the smoking of K2 was “linked” to two deaths in Indiana – a rather odd situation indeed! It seems there’s no conclusive evidence available to say that K2 actually caused these deaths – it could be the same as all those people that apparently died of mephedrone over here who didn’t actually take it (Eg, Gabbi Price). However, just because we’ve been consistently lied to by the British press, it would be unwise to immediately rule out the other possibility – that K2 is somehow killing these people. As it happens, we’ve also got some more evidence right here on this blog that supports that conclusion: this guy reports vomiting blood after oral ingestion of JWH-018.

Here’s what I think. JWH-018 is safe, at least in the short term, so it’s not responsible for what we’re seeing. I reckon we’ve got a harmful contaminant or impurity left over from the synthesis which is causing all the damage. If there was a bad batch going round, it would also help to explain why those two deaths are both in Indiana, although I’m not sure where that commenter hails from.

Unfortunately, once again, this is all speculation, but it’s speculation based on all the evidence we have available. Fortunately, David Kroll, who’s forgotten more pharmacology than I know, has arrived at that same conclusion – contamination. Be sure to check out his post for links to the original stories, more detail and more speculation.

If you come across any more stories or bad batches, let us know!

For now, I’d advise those in the US to avoid any new brands popping up, avoid K2 in Indiana and, if you’re buying pure JWH-018, avoid it like the plague if it doesn’t exactly resemble the previous batches you’ve bought.

We’ve finallllly done it! Last December (2009), you may remember a tonne of legal highs got banned for a number of bullshit reasons, including our super popular Mellow Yellow. Well, now, after months of anticipation, Coffeesh0p.com (John & Jo’s Coffeeshop Ltd ) has bought out another new, amazing incense: Meen Green!

It’s in the same “homemade” packaging as the Mellow Yellow, but it still looks awesome. The incense itself is a lovely green colour, very fluffy and burns evenly.

So How Can You Get Some For Free?

Before I continue, I’m afraid it’s only available to those in the UK for now. If this changes, I’ll be sure to let you know. So, if you’re in the UK, here’s how to score a freebie:

1) Comment on this post asking for some! I’ll give 3g to the first commenter and 1g to the next 10 commenters! I want some feedback though, so you have to let me know what you think of it.

2) If you’re on Twitter, retweet this message! I’ll pick a handful of people to give some to, depending on how many people participate.

3) Place an order with Coffeesh0p for £30 or more and we’ll throw in a free gram. This offer will be available for a couple of days at least, but after that, we can’t guarantee it.

In case you can’t tell, I’m super excited.

Everyone’s a winner who entered last weeks Science Joke Competition! Not in the sense that everyone wins a prize, but in the sense that maybe, just maybe, we’ve inspired someone, somewhere to do something vaguely scientific. So who did win a prize? …

The Winner

Potter

The Runners Up

James

psiphi

Fantastic! Remember though, if you’re not from the UK and you want to claim your prize, you’ll have to send us a couple of quid to cover the postage. We’ll sort all that out later. I’ll be in touch soon, probably, although we are getting married in 6 days, so there might be a bit of a delay… :^|

I’ve got to go and write my speech now, so I’ll leave you with this brilliant sketch from That Mitchell & Webb Look:

Following some rather depressing blog comments, I reckon it’s about time we had another competition in the name of science!

What Can You Win?

The winner will get a super awesome double size bottle of Blue Lagoon, a new liquid herbal high, and a 10g bag of Mexican Dream Herb. The two runners up will just get the Dream Herb.

What Do You Have To Do?

I want to hear the best science joke you’ve got. There’s a few to get you started at the end of this post. Obviously, I don’t expect you to write some new comedy gold, but at least have the decency to tell a joke in your own words and not just lift it from the first google result for “science joeks lol”. Post your entries in the comments below this post!

Who Can Enter?

If you’re in the UK, this competition is for you. If you live anywhere else, you can still win the stuff, just as long as you’re willing to PayPal me the postage costs. Usual rules apply, like being over 18, not mentally unstable or pregnant.

When Will The Winners Be Picked?

Over the next weekend probably. Who knows when exactly… depends when I’ve got 5 minutes. Get off my case already! Jeez.

This past week, there has been a series of devastating firebomb attacks on a number of pubs in the centre of Birmingham. These attacks were carried out by a militant Islamic group seeking to put an end to the “evils of alcohol”, as it is forbidden by their religion. In the weeks leading up to the attacks, each of the pubs targeted was issued a warning by the group, threatening serious consequences for those that didn’t shut down immediately. Other pubs in Birmingham have received a similar warning.

The group has received sympathy and support from those addicted to the drug and the family and friends of those affected by alcohol.

Alcohol is a volatile and extremely flammable liquid that is used as an industrial solvent. Users commonly mix it with other liquids, or “soft drinks”, to mask the unpleasant taste and to prevent chemical burns to their mouth and throat. This mixture is referred to as a “hard drink”, drawing attention to the underlying violence and aggression associated with Britain’s depraved drink culture. Side effects such as dizziness, confusion, headaches and depression are reported by the majority of drinkers, especially following large doses.

The attacks have highlighted the addictive nature of alcohol and the danger it poses to society. Birmingham officials have responded by calling for the closure of all pubs in the city and trying to fast track legislation for a nationwide ban on alcohol.

Wut?!

Ahhhhhhhhh, just kidding! Kind of.

If you replace Birmingham with Ireland, militant Islamic group with paramilitary “vigilante” group known as the “Republican Action Against Drugs”, pub with headshop and alcohol with legal highs, then this is exactly the kind of bullshit story you might have read about these past few weeks.

Basically, a load of illegal drug dealers thinly veiled as a vigilante group are going round burning headshops down and in one case shooting someone who sold legal highs from his shop. These are acts of terrorism.

First off, the fact that these people are illegal drug dealers is speculation, but since half a million euros was found in the burnt out husk of just one of these headshops, it’s not hard to find a motive. They claim they’re against drugs in general, but no one who feels that drugs are so morally wrong would go out and shoot someone – a far more immoral crime. They’re either completely moral, completely immoral or completely nuts. The situation is chillingly similar to that Christian loon who shot that abortion doctor in the US.

"Hey! Guys! Get a hit of this crazy shit! Bring crisps."

That aside, the biggest issue is how these blatant acts of terrorism are being reported.  Just like my bullshit news story above (c’mon, you fell for it at least for a few seconds, right?), the reports on these headshop fires and shootings somehow manage to segue past the whole terrorism thing to focus on just how bad for us these shops are. Check out these quotes from the Irish Times:

On Friday, the Nirvana head shop and a number of neighbouring outlets on Capel Street were destroyed in a fire which began around the same time local residents reported hearing a loud bang coming from the outlet at 6am on Friday.

Gardaí are treating the Capel Street fire as arson although the exact cause of the blaze may never be known because most of the building has had to be demolished for safety reasons.

Although a link between the two fires has not yet been established there has been speculation that the incidents are related to a widespread campaign to outlaw such outlets.

Regulations which will outlaw a range of products sold as legal highs in head shops across the State are expected to be introduced later this year.

However, Mr Costello today called for legislation to be brought forward to outlaw such products within weeks.

“There has been real anger in the local community over the failure of the authorities to act in relation to head shops because a lot of young people around the area are customers buying products from them which mimic illegal drugs.

“It certainly seems too much of a coincidence that there has been two such fires within days, and there is a real concern that these shops are being targeted, and there is a worry that not enough action is being taken either to stop the selling of these products or to protect people living near head shops who could be hurt in a fire,” he added. (My emphasis)

What the hell, Mr Costello? Go and catch these terrorists! Not only does no one seem to care, but banning these products literally diverts more profit to people that support this kind of senseless violence.

Since we watched and reviewed that BBC documentary Can I Get High Legally? a while back, you may remember Matt Bowden, one of the people interviewed, had some much more interesting points to make than those they actually showed in the documentary. Chris from Potseeds.co.uk said a similar thing – they spent about three hours talking about all sorts of interesting stuff, which was edited down to a couple of sentences on Salvia divinorum and a joke about Horny Goat Weed.

I’ve recently been in touch with “Sam” (not his real name), the user of research chemicals interviewed at the end of the program, and it’s no surprise that the same thing happened to him too. He commented on our review saying “What a fucking farse. I sat there an hour giving them a detailed interview about the state of affairs in the industry and they cut it down to fuck all and made me look like a fool.” Since every research chemical user I’ve spoken to (excluding those only interested in mephedrone) have all been at least reasonably intelligent, and at least two other pro-drugs interviews were heavily edited, it seemed highly likely that Sam was telling the truth.

Once again, its down to me to report the full story. Here’s Sam’s recollection of the events:

They asked me about my drug history.  I explained about using cannabis since I was 13 and research chemicals, which I informed them I started researching at the age of 16, before consuming 2C-B at age 18, using correct safety precautions. They then asked me to list the research chemicals I had taken, then cut them down to only the legal list (which they got wrong).

They asked who I experimented with. I told them generally if one of us found an interesting chemical we would explore it with the same group of 8 to 10 friends.

He asked what I gained from using these substance. I explained that these chemicals give me an insight on a perception of this world which only a few thousand people in the whole world will have experienced. It’s a little piece of insight. Or outsight!

All the drugs shown in the interview were their own which they had ordered. They ask me to explain how they were similar. After showing the substances to me they remarked about the purity of the mephedrone (75%). I explained this was probably a retailer issue as most major manufacturers produce quality chemicals. Our 2C-B HCL tested at 98.9%. I remarked about Dutch bacon being 90% water from certain manufacturers yet they didn’t complain…

Why did I not want to be seen? As this is a documentary on national TV and me being about to graduate, it may spoil my career if someone were to recognise me actively promoting these activities. Admission to illegal activity on national TV would guarantee me problems even if I chose to continue them.

I explained the age old idea of the government controlling these drugs properly and using the proceeds to better our world. The problem with drugs is propaganda and the use of them as a weapon or as a tool for control and domination (some places vary with this). Wanting to get high is natural and everyone does it in their own way. We have been put into a position where we are forced to pick from only a specific list of intoxicants based on what’s socially acceptable, dictated by upbringing, religion and corporate meddling.

These drugs should be made under quality controlled conditions, taxed and used sensibly. We as a whole need to open our eyes.

I think we now have overwhelming evidence that this documentary was far from balanced, and intentionally misleading. They just did such a bad job of it, it was painfully obvious from the beginning.

Mephedrone isn’t just another obscure research chemical. Everyone’s at it, all the time. Despite the media scare stories, over 20% of mephedrone users polled on Drugs Forum take more than 10g each month, with just under half of those consuming over 20g.  A lot of replies to that thread also reveal how quickly usage can escalate, meaning those results are probably on the conservative side. “More acceptable than weed”, some have been saying. “Even my non-druggie friends are doing it!”

Mephedrone has achieved this unusual status thanks to a number of factors. Firstly, it’s an effective stimulant, which is more than can be said for ecstasy and cocaine these days; the former consisting mainly of disagreeable piperazines (due to their cheapness, and until recently, their legal status) rather than MDMA, and the latter being incredibly inpure. Next up is the lack of a comedown that would normally be experienced with other stimulants, especially for new users. This means people can keep taking it for days on end with little to no perceived negative effects. The other major contributor is the price – at around £10 a gram, it undercuts a great many of its illegal counterparts, while often being more effective, or at least more reliable. Other factors include (potentially inaccurate) purity measures, the ease of buying it from the comfort of your own home  with a credit card, rather than handing over a fistful of crumpled notes to a typical drug dealer, and of course its legal status.  Although the majority of users understand that legal doesn’t mean safe, the fact that you can’t be imprisoned alongside murderers, rapists and other violent criminals for possessing it is certainly a plus. Oh, and it’s psychologically addictive – it won’t kill you if you stop taking it, but you might be able to think of nothing else.

Reports of children doing it, entire friendship groups crumbling as a result of compulsive use and the media frenzy have got people understandably worried and calling for this “evil” drug to be banned.

I Disagree.

Why We Shouldn’t Ban Mephedrone

If you haven’t read Top 10 Reasons Why Legal Highs Should Stay Legal, have a quick look now. Here are a few more mephedrone-specific points:

• Changing the law won’t change demand – we’ve already seen this with the reclassification of cannabis and the massive popularity of the synthetic cannabinoids that just got banned. Also, the decriminalisation of drugs in Portugal has resulted in not only a decline in drug use, but also a decline in drug-related illness and death (HIV from sharing needles, for example), as well as a increase in the number of people seeking treatment for addiction.
• The current classification system doesn’t work – Our current ABC system is a shambles, as any scientist, or indeed anyone that values evidence, will testify. Currently, one of the safest drugs, MDMA, sits alongside one of the (if not the) most dangerous, heroin. Cannabis, and soon the synthetic cannabinoids, which haven’t killed anyone, are positioned alongside amphetamine, a drug with far more potential dangers and addiction, meanwhile alcohol, which hospitalises over 1200 people a day and costs the NHS several billion pounds a year, remains legal along with tobacco. I would estimate the harms of mephedrone to be similar to amphetamine, if not a little worse, but placing it in class B would give the message that it is as dangerous as cannabis. Placing it in class A wouldn’t be right, as it certainly doesn’t appear to be as dangerous as heroin, but it’s probably worse than MDMA. Placing it in class C would be ridiculous, as it suggests cannabis is more dangerous. It would be impossible to have a sensible think on how to classify it properly without getting a headache.
• If mephedrone’s popularity persists, more people will die – in the event of an overdose or an idiosyncratic response, people taking illegal drugs are far more likely not to either tell the doctors what they’ve taken or even go to hospital in the first place. That’s not to say that mephedrone will kill a tonne of people, but if no one ever died whilst on mephedrone, that would be pretty weird…

What Should We Do Instead?

Just because I don’t think it should be illegal doesn’t mean I think the current situation is perfect. Instead, I think the best thing the government could do to reduce harm is keep it legal, restrict its sale to people over the age of 21 and slap on a tax of something like £15 per gram. This would make it much harder to buy large quantities at a time, especially for kids with little expendable income, and so curb mephedrone’s addictive nature. Obviously, this wouldn’t be the perfect solution, as some teenagers would still be able to get hold of it just like they do with alcohol, but at least less people will be taking it and a lot more money would be available to better fund the NHS, harm reduction methods, education about the drug and scientific research.

Why Mephedrone Won’t Be Classified Immediately

Heh. The government have certainly shot themselves in the foot here. Thanks to the sacking of Dave Nutt and the resignation of three others on the ACMD, the government now lacks the skills to ban it. Dr Les King, one of the resignees, was responsible for a large part of the ban last month, so without people like him, the government can’t do anything for a while. Looks like it’ll be legal for a good year or so yet.

How YOU Can Help

Well, you can’t really do anything about the mephedrone situation, but you can help me out by posting Mephedrone Cat everywhere!

You might save millions of lives by directing them to some of my harm reduction articles.

Last week’s ban on a few legal highs will certainly do more to harm the public than keeping them legal. Here are 10 ways in which every sensible legal highs user has just been shafted:

#1 – Don’t associate with dodgy people

Selling legal highs can be done by a legitimate business. Since these businesses aren’t breaking the law, engaging in any other kind of illegal behaviour (guns, violence, money laundering, etc) is a massive risk. People that deal illegal drugs are already breaking the law – if they get caught, they’re going to prison for a long time. Breaking the law a second time is no longer such a big deal, especially if the price is right. Not only do you get the safety of dealing with an organisation that doesn’t want to break the law, but you’re also not seen with any dodgy characters, whether that’s meeting up on a street corner, visiting their house or them turning up at your place at a suspicious frequency.

#2 – Comparison Shopping

We all live in hope that one day we could type in RateMyWeedDealer.com, find the best prices in town and arrange for a delivery. Fortunately, as customers of legitimate products, legal highs fans can shop around to their heart’s content. Selling something for more than you should be? Then no one will buy it! It’s as simple as that, so, not only can customers get a better deal by shopping around, this behaviour also encourages healthy competition between legal highs vendors. Another plus for the customer!

#3 – Buyer Protection

Perhaps RateMyWeedDealer.com is a long way off, but what about just ringing your dealer to complain about something? Inadequate packaging? Does the product weigh half as much as you were promised? Unfortunately, I doubt your dealer gives a shit. Luckily, for legal highs consumers, most sites out there have some form of customer service, and if they can’t resolve things, facilities for refunds or chargebacks exist to protect the customer.

#4 – A Strength For Everyone

The sheer number of similar products available mean there is usually a strength for every occasion. Want a bit of an energy boost for work? Caffeine! Want to go to a rave all night? Synthetics! Want to go to a rave but it’s not going to be a “big one” because you’ve got work in the morning, and, let’s face it, your joints and muscles aren’t what they used to be? Something herbal!

I think asking an illegal drug dealer for something cheaper and less effective would be a world first.

#5 – Diversity

Not only is there a range in price and strength, there’s also an incredible range of effects available. Clear headed stimulation, total euphoria, intense rushes, powerful relaxants, shit that makes you laugh – whatever you want, there’s probably something available somewhere that will do the trick. In the world of illegal drugs, that kind of product diversity could only be maintained via a database of epic proportions containing your millions of “hookups” and your own data entry guy.

#6 – Passing A Drug Test

Some people might thing it’s unfair that their co-workers can party all night on a litre of vodka, sleep for a few hours in a bathtub alongside their own sick and eventually drive to work still pissed, while they get fired for smoking a bit of weed after work. Sure, people should get fired if they let their abuse of any substance interfere with their work, but some people may feel that what they get up to in their own time is their own business. These people may feel drug tests are massive breach of their privacy, so it’s a good job that they have a legal alternative to turn to, since they shouldn’t show up on drug tests.

#7 – Friends More Likely To Do The Right Thing

People that overdose on illegal drugs will sometimes go without the treatment they need to avoid any legal trouble for themselves or their friends. Perhaps a friend might not tell the doctor what someone else has taken for fear of getting their mate into trouble. With legal highs, there’s no risk of prosecution so a) people can fully disclose what they’ve taken and could even present the doc with the original packaging and b) the quantity of chemicals in pills or powders will be consistent between batches…

#8 – Batch Consistency

Not only can doctors share notes on specific products, but users can too. It’s no good trying to compare ecstasy pills from different ends of the country, since the contents are likely to vary wildly, even if they share the same stamp. With legal highs, that’s a different story. Consistency between brands and batches facilitates a great deal of discussion not only on how good they are, but also harm reduction. Occasionally manufacturers do change their ingredients, but it only takes a short while for the changes to reach the entire country.

#9 – The Government Could Learn A Thing Or Two

Straight away, the fact that the legal highs industry even exists tells us that people want to get high and that people think the current drug laws are stupid. There’s one massive lesson that could be learned from it though – why not use it as a model for eventually legalising cannabis and the rest? Instead of trying to ban every new substance before anyone has died, why not look at regulating their sales with similar legislation to alcohol and tobacco? If we as a country could get this right with legal highs, we could see if it works or not and them maybe think of abolishing our current bullshit excuse for a drugs law.

#10 – Taxes

Here’s a list of taxes that illegal drug dealers don’t pay:

• Personal Income Tax
• National Insurance
• Corporation Tax
• VAT

If legal highs remained legal and were taxed like alcohol and tobacco, the government would even more money on top of the taxes above that they already receive. These products are relatively harmless compared with alcohol, for example, which hospitalises 1200 people a day and costs the NHS at least £2 billion to deal with, so a tax on them wouldn’t be paying for the damage they’d cause to society – they’d be making the government a massive profit to spend on more doctors, nurses, medical research and fucking moats!

Nice one, G’ Brown!

ITV’s Central News decided to do an “investigation” into legal highs, and after reading about us in The Observer, they thought they should probably talk to us. While you do get to see an excellent close-up of my untrimmed beard, Jo (the misses) is the star of the show:

Other than Jo’s point, the rest is pretty rubbish, including the terrible audio quality – sorry about that! We totally expected it would be a negative piece overall, but someone has to stick up for the industry though, right?

This is also one more thing for the CV – our own Mellow Yellow has been on telly!

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.