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
same thing with salvia (check spelling) plants... also legal in singapore...
Drugs suck, I'm from the Netherlands like some of u know, and got experience with people who often use Canabis. Everyone who's not from out country believes it's legal here but it's not, it just gets tolerated to a certain degree. During the years canabis can no longer be called soft drugs anymore. I know people who use it, and they all say it's hard drugs since once nowadays it's highly addictive. Once you start using it and the addiction kicks in, it starts to influence your life. You think about it non stop etc. Most of them also told me that it affects your brains more then people think. They're long term users and all say that cause of it they grew a shortage of social skills and such. They even say that they noticed their short term memory is affected by it in a bad way.
Some party drugs get tolerated too. I'm not against it cause I think everyone is responsible for themselves, but I strongly advise anyone not to use stuff like that.