Is Meow Meow the new Ecstasy?

[Chiral]

source

Drugs are on my mind this week — and on my doorstep. After a night out clubbing, my two daughters, aged 19 and 20, tell me that the stimulant Meow Meow has arrived in the area, and if it has reached our sleepy market town in the Cotswolds then I suspect it is in your neighbourhood as well.

Meow Meow (mephedrone) is easily, and legally, bought over the internet where it is often advertised as plant feed. When taken as a tablet, or snorted as a powder, it gives a similar high to Ecstasy and abuse has taken off in the UK over the past couple of years.

The drug is likely to be one of the first items on the agenda for Professor Les Iversen*, the Government’s new drugs czar. Other “legal highs” such as BZP (a derivative of a worming agent) and GBL (paint stripper) have now been reclassified as Class C drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act, but mephedrone — and a similar drug, salvia or “herbal ecstasy” (the leaves of the Mexican plant Salvia divinorum) — are now under review.

In the meantime, should parents be worried about Meow Meow?

Not a lot is known about the drug. It has been linked to one death so far in the UK — a 14-year old girl who took it at a party near Brighton — and there have been a number of people admitted to hospital with bizarre side-effects, including a teenage boy, who is reported to have had such severe hallucinations that he ripped off his scrotum.

It is difficult to put these reports in context without knowing how many people are using mephedrone and how they are taking it. It is not unusual for legal highs to be taken with copious amounts of alcohol and/or other drugs, including ketamine (known as Milton Keynes when mixed with mephedrone). Add in the inevitable variations in quality that occur with any black market drug, and it is very difficult to find out what people are actually taking.

Users of Meow Meow report an amphetamine-type euphoria that comes with mental and physical stimulation, talkativeness and feelings of empathy. Physical changes include dilated pupils, increased heart rate and blood pressure, sweating, flushing and goose bumps.

And, despite the scrotum ripping story, most don’t report any significant hallucinations.

The effects start to become noticeable within half an hour of taking a tablet or within a couple of minutes of snorting the drug and last for anything up to four hours (less if snorted).

The downside includes a strong desire to take more, rapid changes in body temperature (sweating or chills), paranoia, palpitations, panic attacks and muscle spasms. A hangover the next morning tends not to be too much of a problem and it is not known whether Meow Meow is addictive — although a number of cases have started to trickle through into NHS drug treatment centres.

Although it is now legal to take the drug, it is illegal to supply it for human consumption which is why most suppliers advertise it as “plant food”. A Google search revealed more than 52,000 hits for the drug in the UK. I have advised my daughters to steer clear of the stuff (although both are at university and well past the age where they take too much notice of what I say).

Even if Meow Meow is comparatively safe, there is always the worry that it could be the start of a slippery slope. The evidence that legal highs, or “soft” drugs such as cannabis, lead to an inexorable path to more dangerous substances such as heroin, is patchy. It may in some, but will not in most.

Only time will tell how how risky mephedrone abuse really is. Many young people regard today’s concerns as propaganda, but it took decades to discover that cocaine (which used to be legal and an ingredient in Coca-Cola) is nowhere near as harmless as many users still believe.

A recent study in Spain into nearly 700 sudden deaths found that cocaine was responsible for around 1 in 30 of them — all of them in people under 45.

Drug abuse is endemic. If your son or daughter has not experimented with at least one drug then I guarantee that he or she will be mixing with people who have. But while drug abuse may be every parent’s nightmare, the vast majority of young people who try them will emerge unscathed from their dabbling.

And while focusing on drugs we risk looking past the dangers of alcohol. It may be only natural to worry about your child trying drugs, but the most dangerous one of all, in terms of its impact on the nation’s health, is both legal and freely available. And, unlike Meow Meow, likely to remain so for the foreseeable future.

*In a rather confusing move, the Government sacked the widely respected David Nutt as its key adviser on drugs after he questioned the tightening of legislation on cannabis — only to replace him with someone who once called for its legalisation.

[ThunderIdeal]

article redeems itself at the end IMHO

ripped his sack off during some hectic form of sexual gratification, surely?

[nabraxas]

ketamine (known as Milton Keynes when mixed with mephedrone)

"You haven't lived until you've died in Milton Keynes"

Birth of a "New City"

In the 1960s, the Government decided that a further generation of new towns in the South East was needed to relieve housing congestion in London.

Population trend of Borough and Urban Area 1801-2001

Since the 1950s, overspill housing for several London boroughs[4][5][6] had been constructed in Bletchley. Further studies[7][8] in the 1960s identified north Buckinghamshire as a possible site for a large new town, a new city,[9] encompassing the existing towns of Bletchley, Stony Stratford and Wolverton. The New Town (informally, "New City") was to be the biggest yet, with a target population of 250,000,[10] in a 'designated area' of 21,850 acres (34.1 sq mi; 88.4 km2).[11] The name "Milton Keynes" was taken from the existing village of Milton Keynes on the site.[12]

The site was deliberately located equidistant from London, Birmingham, Leicester, Oxford and Cambridge with the intention[13] that it would be self-sustaining and eventually become a major regional centre in its own right. Planning control was taken from elected local authorities and delegated to the Milton Keynes Development Corporation (MKDC).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Keynes

[C_T]

its not legal here...

[Chiral]

"You haven't lived until you've died in Milton Keynes"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Keynes

 

LMAO....reminds me off a place called Chigwell...or there is actually a town called "Newtwown" over there that is one of those "new urban" areas...silly pommies copying off the ozzies.

I want some meow meow...

[nabraxas]

LMAO....reminds me off a place called Chigwell...

 

i much preferred Chigley, Camberwick Green and Trumpton were nice too.

 

Time Flies By (When You're A Driver Of A Train) :

Time flies by when you're a driver of a train, Speeding out of Trumpton with a cargo of cocaine. I get high when im a pilot of a plane. Touching down in Camberwick, I’m stoned out of my brain.

Under bridges, over bridges, to our destination. Careful with that spliff, Eugene, it causes condensation.

Every saturday i get the Chigley skins. And they always smash my windows 'cos the home side always wins.

Time flies by when you're a driver of a train, Gonna get my syringes out and crank up once again.

Under bridges, over bridges, to our destination. Careful with that spliff, Eugene, it causes condensation.

[ref1ect1ons]

herbal ecstasy, ok BS.

How come the poms get a real democracy where everything isn't banned the minute whingers whinge.

It's been eight years for us, with the legacy of thier system, and we're in a worse way than they are.

[Neoshaman]

herbal ecstasy, ok BS.

How come the poms get a real democracy where everything isn't banned the minute whingers whinge.

It's been eight years for us, with the legacy of thier system, and we're in a worse way than they are.

 

and nothing will change soon look at the choices we have Rudd or Abbot

I like this story far better then the scaremongering bullshit on p.7 of todays daily telegraph at least this article takes the reality of the issue into account

[ref1ect1ons]

Abbot: maryjoe wanna is satan

Rudd: The degree to which these pot smokers smoke, as they like to call themselves, and as I have no trouble calling them; is of the greatest concern to EVERY Australian and to the international community. I propose we seek-out these terrorist in their homes and underground lairs, and to do this we MUST install body-scanning devices at ALL national domestic and international airports in the next two hours.

Yeah this article is bi-polar, it's like the editor said, you know the story go hard on these devil weeds. Then at the end his true opinions seep through a little, and he makes a slight remark about the decisions of the government in terms of how they chose their herb czar.

[Slybacon]

Our customs must be pretty lax.

I know people ordering this for there bonsai's left right and center. Packages left unopened by customs and of the many many times they have brought it in not one package has gone missing.

If you were to bring this stuff in as plant food. And all the advertising and marketing says plant food then i cant imagine getting busted having it. Imagine some old lady with bonsai's stumbles across one of these websites and decides she wants to see if her bonsai take to it, is she gonna get arrested for bringing in drugs when it was the deception of the suppliers that brought about the situation in the firsts place. If your not selling it and you have bonsais at home, what the fuck can they do. I reckon if i recommended it to my grandma as plant food and told her to order some she would without question. Sorry granny, didn't mean to bring the cops down on ya.

That being said Im not ready to try this stuff, nor would i feel safe importing it.

Rudd: The degree to which these pot smokers smoke, as they like to call themselves, and as I have no trouble calling them; is of the greatest concern to EVERY Australian and to the international community. I propose we seek-out these terrorist in their homes and underground lairs, and to do this we MUST install body-scanning devices at ALL national domestic and international airports in the next two hours.

Holy shit Im a t e r r o r i s t now. Ive been promoted from petty criminal to full blown t e r r o r king, disturbing the peace with my smelly smoke.

FUCK YOU RUDD.

Edited February 12, 2010 by Slybacon

[ref1ect1ons]

Holy shit Im a t e r r o r i s t now. Ive been promoted from petty criminal to full blown t e r r o r king, disturbing the peace with my smelly smoke.

FUCK YOU RUDD.

lol

Dude, I made that up based on what rudd would say.

I'm not sure if you serious or what goin on now. lol

[Quill]

lol

Dude, I made that up based on what rudd would say.

I'm not sure if you serious or what goin on now. lol

 

too late now man, you've disturbed him in his underground lair

[El Presidente Hillbillios]

Yakkkkk, gimme the real deal anyday

In countries where legal of course

Edited February 12, 2010 by Hillbilly farm boy

[Quill]

I hear it's so good you'll rip your sack off.

[ThunderIdeal]

it's a good thing

[knackers323]

if anyone finds this can they let me know. I need some to study. thanks

[Slybacon]

^^^^ ist Illegal as far as i know. Analog of 4 methycathinone. Unless someone will stand to correct me.

[Listo]

Heard a broadcast about this on JJJ radio news tonight, they said "illegal" but you never know how much research is behind journalism.

[Torsten]

definitely illegal and several people have been charged with importation and possession in the last few weeks. Even 5g can get you a jail term as that is as much as about 50 e-pills as far as the law is concerned.

Just for the record, I have been saying this is illegal for several years now and constantly have to argue with people who claim otherwise. The people who have been arrested and charged were all under the impression that meow was legal because of the uninformed claims of such legality made on webforums.

[C_T]

is it worth getting your door kicked in at 6am? because it CAN happen, do not kid yourself.

[Chiral]

Yes lets not forget this is a UK article so legality must always be checked in your local state and national laws.

The article is for entertainment and information purpose's only.

[Chiral]

New 'miaow' party drug a killer: police

Drug smugglers targeted Victoria with a massive shipment of a dangerous new party drug, nicknamed "miaow", which causes some users to self-mutilate.

Australian Federal Police intercepted over 23kg of the drug this week as part of a nationwide crackdown on drug trafficking through the mail.

Ninety-five per cent of the drug, stuffed inside children's toys and nappies, was sent to Victoria.

The South American crime syndicate also sent parcels to Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania.

It has yet to be detected in Western Australia.

Robert Rye, a nurse who works with addicts through Melbourne's First Step Program, says miaow has been popular in the rave scene, especially in the UK, but he's yet to hear users specifically mention it.

But, he says, dealers could be putting it on the market to test the reactions in users.

"We've seen that before, with the dealers just putting it out there, that people are being guinea pigs on it," he said.

"And some people, if they don't like it would just put it down to it being a bad batch and not realise it."

Side-effects of the drug can include circulatory problems with numb and blue-coloured hands, nose and ears, he said, as well as palpitations and paranoia.

Medical authorities have yet to tally statistics on overdoses and complications on miaow.

Many users may also not know what they've actually taken when they overdose, hospital officials say.

The party drug is called 4-methylmethcathinone but is more commonly known as 4-MMC, mephedrone or on the street "miaow".

It's a prohibited substance in Australia but is available legally in some countries across Europe.

The drug is a cheap and popular alternative to ecstasy but there are fears its usage could lead to serious addictions and horrible side-effects.

"It is a dangerous drug, no question about it," AFP Assistant Commissioner Kevin Zuccato said.

"There have been dangerous deaths linked to miaow."

In Sydney, users have been hospitalised after cutting their fingers in half, attempting castrations and circumcisions.

The death of a Swedish woman two years ago and a teenager in England last year have also been linked to the drug.

The drug first appeared in Australia in 2008 with police and customs officials detecting 25 attempts to import the drug.

http://www.watoday.com.au/national/new-miaow-party-drug-a-killer-police-20100213-ny4o.html

[internettoughguy]

only 2 reported deaths in 3 years, i consider that great statistics! why do they make it sound so terrible?!

[tripsis]

In Sydney, users have been hospitalised after cutting their fingers in half, attempting castrations and circumcisions.

Anyone have links to more information on the above statement?

[C_T]

sounds like pcp propaganda...