Meow update 2: more UK tabloid exposure for 'Mephedrone Menace'

As predicted, the UK tabloid press has finally picked up on the Mephedrone phenomenon.

Following hot on the heels of The Sun, this time it's the Daily Mail running an exposé on the widely-available, cheap, legal drug that some users have hailed as the 'saviour of clubland' in the UK.

In his article in the Mail, Paul Brachi investigates a website which provides deliveries of Mephedrone in the London area by courier until 3am. Curiously, in one of the photos accompanying the article, the website address (http://www.plantfood2u.com/) is clearly visible on a label on a bag of Mephedrone, thereby providing the company with massive free publicity.

For those unfamiliar with the Daily Mail, the stories it runs are considered some of the more sensationalist in the British press. That said, Narcotrends found this particular piece to be reasonably balanced and fairly well researched, with the exception of this marvellous explanation of how the 'meow meow' street name for Mephedrone arose:

"Mephedrone is often combined with Ketamine, a horse tranquilliser, which helps to relax you after the Mephedrone high. The street name 'meow meow' derives from the fact Ketamine is sometimes called Ket. Ket sounds like cat (as in meow meow)."

Indeed.

Narcotrends would timidly suggest that perhaps the abbreviated chemical name 'mmcat' (4-methylmethcathinone) might be a more likely source of the nickname.

Despite occasional lapses into scare-mongering, the article does a surprisingly good job of highlighting the growing use of Mephedrone in the UK and the lack of any legal framework to control it.

Read more at the Daily Mail

'Meow' update: UK tabloid picks up on mephedrone after teen death

Further to our recent item on Mephedrone use in the UK, it seems that tabloid newspaper The Sun is connecting the drug with the tragic death of a teenage girl in the UK.

According to the article, 14 year old Gabi Price died of cardiac arrest at 10pm on Saturday 21st November after falling ill at a house party where, according to an unnamed neighbour, she was taking mephedrone mixed with ketamine.

The post mortem results are not yet in, but typically this has not stopped the UK tabloid press from speculating about the cause of death. NarcoTrends expects many more sensationalist stories about mephedrone in the near future.

Read the full article over at The Sun.

Call "meow" if you want a good time?

Mephedrone use is becoming increasingly widespread among drug-users in the UK. Our roving reporter sheds light on this research chemical gone recreational.

There's a new slang term in the narcotic vocabulary: meow. Cats will never be looked at the same way again as mephedrone, also known as 4-methylmethcathinone (4-MMC), has become such a popular recreational drug that it has its own nickname. Festivals, clubs and houseparties this summer seemed increasingly awash with the psychoactive stimulant that is completely legal and becoming a firm favourite with ravers.

It's effects have been compared to MDMA and cocaine, though neither really do it justice. Mephedrone offers a happy buzz and the positivity that goes with it, throw in a dash of alertness and it's an ideal dance drug or seen as perfect for all night houseparties. Sold as plant feeder, there's plenty of ways of getting your hands on meow and at around £12 a gram, it's cheap.

With genuine ecstasy pills and MDMA in short supply, it's no surprise meow use is on the increase, together with another two substances, methylone and butylone, which are often combined with mephedrone for a heightened experience. Yet, despite being legal in most countries right now, meow's already been banned in Israel, Norway, Sweden and the US. Why? One girl died in December last year in Sweden and it's side effects could prove quite telling as the authorities in other countries face up to the prospect of widespread use.

Extreme anxiety and poor circulation causing hands and feet to go blue are two of the most common symptoms of use, both signs of its toxicity. How long mephedrone will continue it's legality remains to be seen - the UK media, normally so quick to launch tirades against anything that might disrupt the social status quo, has been quiet on the matter. Given the sharp uptake in mephedrone's popularity and sudden appearance of websites selling the substance suggests it won't be ignored for much longer.

Rio's drug gangs: barely breaking even?

There's been plenty in the news lately about the recent spate of violence in Rio's favelas, in which a police helicopter was brought down by gunfire and several buses were set alight. The law enforcement authorities in Rio certainly have their work cut out if they wish to project the image of a safe city in time for the 2016 Olympics, which the city recently won.

Trawling through the deluge of articles in the mainstream media in the aftermath of the October flare-up, there are a couple which stand out, offering a deeper insight into the complex issue of drug crime in the city's slums.

The first is this excellent article by Tom Phillips in the Guardian. His documentary, Dancing with the Devil, will be shown on UK TV this week (More 4, Tuesday 10th November, 10pm) and should be well worth viewing if you have access to it.

In the article, Phillips describes his experiences riding with the drug gangs as well as with a local preacher who is doing his best to turn the young men away from violence. (Note: any reporters thinking of heading into the favelas to do a spot of investigative reporting should ensure they have arranged their visit beforehand with the right people, as this guy found out)

Secondly, is this item in The Economist (free 14 day registration may be required, though the link worked fine without it at the time of writing). The Economist doesn't bother pontificating on the moral issues surrounding drug-dealing and violence in the slums, but instead zeroes in on - as you might expect - the economics of the situation. Rio's drug trade (the majority of which is in cocaine) is controlled by 3 competing factions, unlike many cities where one group exercises overall market dominance. The result, the article argues, citing a recent study, is that the gangs are operating at close to break-even, when wages and equipment (guns and body armour) have been accounted for:

"Using a conservative estimate for total annual drugs sales in the city, of R$316m ($182m), the study reckons that after buying the product from wholesalers, employing a sales force and investing in capital (guns, mainly), Rio’s dealers make combined annual profits of R$27m ($15m)"

In this context, the fierce violence that occurs as the gangs battle it out for supremacy can be explained succinctly; the gangs are fighting for control of a market which could be a lot more lucrative if some of the competition could be eliminated. Throw Rio's notoriously well-armed and heavy-handed military police into the equation and you have a recipe for bloodshed on all sides.