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Mephedrone
Lee Campbell
*Update - Mephedrone has now been made illegal.
Shirley's story
Shirley got in touch with the Nolan Show. She and her family are still racked with grief after burying their 17 year old son Lee the previous Friday. Lee had become hooked on Mephedrone. Listen to her story, by selecting it from the player on the right.
Many of you contacted the programme to voice your opinions. Chair of the Health Committee - Jim Wells called for shops selling Mephedrone to stop immediately. Listen again to a selection of the callers and to Jim Wells, using the player on the right. Comments and texts messages sent into the show can be read at the bottom of this page.
What is Mephedrone?
4-methylmethcathinone (4-MMC) and also known as:
Mephedrone. A stimulant drug with effects similar to MDMA producing euphoria, alertness, talkativeness and feelings of empathy. It can also cause anxiety and paranoid states and risk overstimulating the heart and nervous system to cause fits. Severe nosebleeds have been reported after snorting. A white or off-white powder usually sold on the internet as a legal high and described as a plant food or a research chemical not for human consumption. Sometimes mixed with other cathinones and caffeine.
Reports say that it can be compulsive to use and can create a state of psychological dependence.
Legal Highs
Just because they are legal to possess doesn't mean they are safe.
Legal highs can contain a range of potentially dangerous chemicals, and their chemical makeup changes all the time - so you can never be 100% certain what you have bought, and what the effects might be.
The chemicals in legal highs have, in most cases, never before been used as drugs, so have had no tests performed on them to show that they are safe. Nor do they have a long history of use, so that health problems would have become apparent.
Legal highs can carry serious health risks.
Risks
Risks of legal highs include reduced inhibitions, drowsiness, excited or paranoid states, coma, seizures, and death. Because legal highs are often new and, in many cases, their chemical make-up is constantly changing, the risks are unpredictable.
Information from Talk to FRANK website
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SpecialREPORTS
Alzheimer's & Dementia
A devastating condition which leaves its victims dependent on the care of others.
Mephedrone
"The former legal killer. Help, information and personal stories"
Lisa McAlister
Nolan Show reporter Lisa McAlister
The People Speak
Your Text Messages
Where were the Drugs Prevention agencies and voluntary groups in all this ? Parents are always the last to know. The community groups etc. should have been crying out about this stuff a long time ago.
It shows how little our government really understands about what's happening in the province.
How did this product get onto the market without a health warning. Jimmy.
Such a brave, brave woman. Her interview should be played to young people in schools and youth clubs. She has the power to save lives!
We can't ban everything because people abuse the product my goodness where will it end . Its the stupid people that take the stuff that are the problem why don't they try battery acid see what it does . From sensible right thinking person .
My heart aches for Shirley. In tears as I am listening to her speak.
What a brave brave lady Shirley is. my heart goes out to her
Stephen. I'm a 54 yr old man and I'm in tears listening to Shirley. God love her and her family. Its so heart breaking listening to her. Newry listener.
Stephen Nolan, in my eyes u have redeemed yourself. What a fantastic programme this am. Forget the charity runs, getting this drug banned is your mission in life...
Stephen the solution short term is quite simple. Its time the people selling this examined their morals and ethics and asked themselves whether or not th ey want to be responsible for someone's death?
I was in a bar one evening in Belfast. Went to the toilet and was asked by two young girls no more than 21 if i wanted some Mephadrone...
Blame the drugs blame the drink blame this that and the other, prohibition will do nothing other than push the street price of this drug up, like alcohol abuse there must be other factors at play. Ciaran Belfast
I' m a mental health nurse in the area, this Methadone is rife, it is destroying families & young people, it is not a mental illness but is causing mental problems. I will march 2 Stormont with that woman, all women together, Ann, Lurgan
I feel so sad for any parents who have to go through the pain of that mother. But I feel it doesn't matter what substance our young people are taking the real question is WHY do so many of our children see the need to be out of their mind all the time? What have we done to our young people? Claire Tyrone
I was a raver in the early 90's and took a lot of drugs .this meth is bad news i know lots of people that use it and its messing them up. Ban it quick before more people die.
Stephen we have just buried our 17 year old nephew who committed suicide due 2 Mephadrone. please tell the authorities that they must rid this substance from their young folks lives.
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Comments
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Stephen, they have already started advertising the next drug. Its called MDPV, ive been getting e-mails about buying it. I had been useing meph but after this last week im stopping as of now.
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what in the name of god do these people want to involve themselves with drugs for there has been enough warnings around about taking any drugs for years and what they can do to you so could someone please tell me why they still go ahead and try it id really love to know
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
osting:
@U14399717 "what in the name of god do these people want to involve themselves with drugs for ".
Humans have always used drugs since the era of cavemen. I dont believe that recreational use is wrong. It brings relaxation and pleasure. Its a quick and "easy" way out of a miserable existance.
I personally have only ever used Marijuana ( 20+ years whilst in Holland where it is legal) and kept away from all other drugs until recently. The news about Mephadrome made me look at websites ( Id previously suspected were fake ) and I've just tried MPDV.
Given the ridiculous cost of Skunk, Im figuring this stuff is value for money. Im about to buy 50g of Meph before it becomes illegal and 5g of Energy - 1 which I read is also very strong.
Before people post "warning me of dangers", Id like to say, Im already aware. Further more the 30 deaths in/directly related to Meph, a tiny number of deaths in comparison 8,000 in the UK in 1 year alone from drink.
So to surmise:
1: People do drugs to enjoy.
2: Drugs arent necessarily bad.
3: We live in a lost unguided society where material wealth/pleasure is of importance. Moral conduct and religious belief are in rapid decline and play no part.
4: Drugs are only bad when misused. Depend on anything for a "quick and easy way out" and your selling what little remains of your soul as dependancy always ends up causing the complete opposite. E.g. ask an alcoholic if they are happy ?
5: Ban something and watch an upsurge in popularity.
I've lived in Holland. There is simply no comparission between police/trouble free coffee shops and the riot vans patrolling our "legal drug den" pubs.
I think the only solution is a level playing field. Call drugs drugs e.g. Alcohol is a drug and make people aware of the dangers and let them decide.
My advice to anyone before taking any drug, look at what it does to someone whos been using a long time. I.e. Ozzy Osbourne.is a great advert from Heroin abuse..
I dont think it is correct to outlaw anything that only harms oneself.
Its just a knee-jerk reaction outlawing these "plantfood" meds will merely result in variations that are possibly more dangerous,.
Sadly we cannot see the long term effects because of the "legal" formula changes to bypass laws made by fools. The law really needs to made sensible. But I dont see much hope of that when the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs are ignored by a government.!
Its sorry that people have died from abusing them and the trauma inflicted on those left behind. Its also sorry that 100 times the amount of people die every year on UK roads.
So I hope that answers your question on why people do these drugs. I would discourage others from taking any form of drugs but given the choice of taking legal drugs like (drink / tobacco / anti depressants ) or those illegal recreational drugs like cannabis, I know which I would choose.
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Stephen, i was at a house party on saturday night after being out on the town, the house was completely filled with bags of the stuff, its unbelievable how many teenagers are taking it. I'm 19, and I've never touched a drug in my life, I've seen the effects of it, and if theses stories about Meow Meow save just 1 teenagers life, then it'll have been worth it. People need to hear a few home truths because drugs are gonna wipe the teenage population and its getting beyond "a laugh at the weekends!" People are getting hooked. It makes my blood boil that people are seeing all over the news how kids are dying and STILL proceed to take them.
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Michael,
I am a little confused. On March 26th you said you used to use Meph but as from then were stopping completely. ON Marcg 31st you siad you could nit understand why people were still using any drugs when tnecdangers were still known. ON April 1st you said you were ordering 50grams Meph before the ban. You said you had only used Marjuana for 2o years until recently, and would nit recommend drug use to anyone in alater post, then said you had just used MDPV.
Then the final post agrees with the ban. Are these 5 posts written by the Same" Michael" , as they seem to contradict each other ? Which is it to be ?
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There is a problem with this blog. All the posts come up as " Michael wrote" regardless of who wrote them. Mine was the last post prior to thos one, and I am not called Michael. I expect this post woll come up the same. I shall try and report it.
written by ( Hopefulness )
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