Journo friend of mine has drafted an article about Mephedrone and he asked me to pop it up here for some peer review and constructive criticism.
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Middle England loves a moral panic. Moreover, the press love creating them and then stoking the fire until they’ve flogged that dead horse so extensively a Chevaline couldn’t sell it as dog food. Over the past few years, we have been through drugs, paedophilia, vicious dogs, gang culture, and now straight back to drugs. Mephedrone, to be precise.
M-KAT, Miaow Miaow, Drone or Bubble (or 4-MMC to boffins), is a legal high sold on the internet as plant fertiliser as
it is against the law to sell, supply or advertise the powder for human consumption, under the Medicines Act. It is not to be confused with Methadone, the opiate substitute given to warm up a Heroin Addict’s cold turkey.
In the space of a year, Mephedrone has become the UK’s most popular drug. It is popular for its low price, ready availability, legal status, and the obvious pleasurable effects. It is most effective when snorted like Cocaine
*, and the average bump lasts up to an hour. The high is compared to Amphetamines, Ecstasy, and Cocaine, with users feeling greater empathy, social awareness and relaxation. As well as the obvious need to dance and tell everyone you love them. Twice.
* Apparently it's more effective added to water/drink of choice, but ofcourse this is just a suggestion
You will have read in the media reports of deaths linked to consumption of Mephedrone. In all of these cases, yes, the deceased took Mephedrone. However, if the red tops actually bothered with such trivialities as coroner’s reports, they would have seen that the use of the drug was not actually the cause of the death. Not for a second would I suggest that a journalist were to completely ignore facts in the process of putting together a story, Lord no.