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Party drug banned abroad but not in S'pore
By Shaffiq Alkhatib, TODAY | Posted: 12 February 2010 0955 hrs
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SINGAPORE : It is available online as "plant food", is not a controlled substance in Singapore, and local clubbers are now abusing it to get a "legal" high.
Mephedrone is so widely abused overseas as a party drug that it has been banned in several countries including Germany, Sweden and Norway.
Last month, a British teenager died after consuming it at a house party. The stimulant was also linked to the death of an 18-year-old girl in Stockholm in December 2008.
While the number of mephedrone abusers in Singapore is unknown, Mixmag - a United Kingdom-based dance music magazine - said recently that through a survey, it found out that about 42 per cent of clubbers in Britain have dabbled with the substance.
Responding to MediaCorp's queries, the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said that mephedrone is not a controlled substance in Singapore and is not listed under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
Alex (not his real name) told MediaCorp he takes mephedrone with his friends almost every weekend. They purchase their supplies off the Internet for about $30 a gram.
He said that the websites usually operate "out of Britain" and that their orders often arrive "within a week's time".
"The substance is openly sold online as 'plant food' so that (sellers) can avoid prosecution," said Alex.
Mephedrone sellers state on the packaging that the chemical is "not for human consumption" although it has no known use as a fertiliser for plants.
Referring to the substance as "meow meow", Alex said he snorts the white powdery substance to give him a high. And unlike alcohol, he claimed, it does not give him a bad hangover the next day.
Because mephedrone is relatively new on the market, medical professionals here know little about it or its long term effects.
But Dr Chin Khong Ling from Healthway Medical Group said anecdotally, mephedrone has been known to constrict blood vessels, and that users may suffer from hallucinations and paranoia. The pharmacology of the substance and its toxicity effects are still not well understood and those who snort the substance can even damage their nasal passages, leading to nosebleeds.
"It can thin out the skin, the blood vessels in the nasal passage and, sometimes, it can even erode the cartilage in your septum, leading to a hole between the two nostrils," said Dr Chin.
Ms Valerie Wong, a counsellor at the Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association said abusers may also experience withdrawal symptoms. To experience the "first high" again, many will consume even more of it to experience the same euphoria.
Consuming mephedrone may even open the doors to harder drugs like heroin, said Ms Wong as many hardcore addicts kickstarted their habits with what is usually perceived as "less dangerous" substances such as inhalants.
A substance does not have to be illegal to be dangerous, and if parents do not carefully monitor their children's behaviour, mephedrone "could turn out to be the new inhalant", she said.
- TODAY/il
