Death of two teens after taking legal drug leads to call for ban
Death of two teens after they took legal high sees call for ban of mephedrone
Wednesday, 17, Mar 2010 04:53
By Sarah Garrod.
The death of two teenagers after they took the legal drug mephedrone has seen a call for it to be banned.
Louis Wainwright, 18 and Nicholas Smith, 19, died in Scunthorpe on Monday after taking the drug.
Humberside police said the drug appeared to have contributed to their deaths, and confirmed they have made four arrests following the incident.
A 26-year-old man, a 20-year-old man and a 17-year-old man are currently in custody, Humberside police confirmed.
Since the incident head teachers have called for the government to ban the drug, which they say has similar dangers as a Class A drug.
The case has sparked a review into whether the drug should be made illegal, with Mick Brooks, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), telling the BBC: "This drug clearly has the same inherent dangers as any Class A drug and I think serious consideration should be given to banning it."
The government is reported to have asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to examine the dangers and report back. Mephedrone, which is a white/yellow powder which is most commonly snorted, has become increasingly popular in recent months.
Commenting on the incident, Detective Chief Inspector Mark Oliver of Humberside police, said: "We have information to suggest these deaths are linked to M-CAT [mephedrone].
"Anyone who knows somebody who has possession of the drug, we would encourage them to either hand it into a local police station or dispose of the substance as soon as possible and contact Humberside police."
The www.mephedrone.com website claims the drug is a cross between cocaine and MDMA or ecstasy. It also claims the majority mephedrone in the UK comes from China, at a street cost of £12 to £15 for a single gram (when bought online).