Hannah Ramsey

Life, Society and Drugs

Section 004
Ibarra
11/8/14
Research Paper
Mephedrone

Mephedrone is a synthetic stimulant and an entactogen drug, which is a "class of

psychoactive drugs that produce distinctive emotional and social effects, similar to those of
Ecstasy." (Nordqvist) It's a synthetic substance related to compounds that exist in the Khat plant
of East Africa. Mephedrone was originally developed in backstreet sweat-shops, not initially as a
medicine. It is most commonly found in the UK. It has a stimulant effect on the nervous system
that can be both physically and psychologically addictive. Mephedrone can be swallowed,
snorted, or injected. It is known by a number of names, although it sounds like "methadone,"
they are very different.

The Khat plant itself does not fall under the Controlled Substances Act, but "because one
of the mind-altering chemicals found in it, cathinone, is a Schedule I drug, the Federal
Government considers Khat use illegal." (Drug Facts: Khat) The use of khat is typically the
same as chewing tobacco. The leaves are chewed then held in the cheek. Chewing the leaves
induces euphoria and elation as well as feelings of increased alertness and arousal. The effects
begin to subside after about 90 minutes to 3 hours, but can last 24 hours. (Drug Facts: Khat)
Using can also lead to an increase in blood pressure and heart rate. Long-term use can lead to

problems in the mouth that include tooth decay and periodontal disease. It can also lead to
gastrointestinal disorders. There is no evidence to suggest that khat use causes mental disorders
but it can worsen symptoms of pre-existing conditions. It is unclear whether khat causes
tolerance, physical dependency, addiction, or withdrawal, but long-term users have reported
mild depression, nightmares, and trembling after ceasing to chew khat. (Drug Facts: Khat)

The two active chemicals in the khat plant are cathine and cathinone, they are responsible
for the psychoactive effects. What makes Mephedrone to khat is the chemical cathinone. The
difference is that in Mephedrone cathinone has two molecular tweaks: the addition of two
methyl groups (carbon atoms attached to three hydrogen atoms). (Strange) In 2003 a bored
underground chemist named Kinetic was experimenting and made Mephedrone. He took some
and discovered that it had similar stimulant effects to ecstasy and the potential of Mephedrone
was established. (Strange)

Mephedrone is most common in the UK, Ireland and some of mainland Europe. It gained
a lot of media attention around 2009 which resulted in the criminalization of the drug. Since
being banned, it has become more popular than before. A survey conducted one July night in
2010 found that "27% of people questioned...[reported] that they had or were going to take it
that night. The results of the follow-up study...found mephedrone had become even more
popular, [with the percentage rising to 41]. (Doward) With this rise in popularity comes a rise
in the number of deaths. In just one year, deaths in the UK linked to mephedrone rose 480%.

"There were five meow meow fatalities in 2009 but 29 in 2010..." (Gregory) In 2013 two
individuals died after a night of partying. During the course of the night they mixed alcohol with
mephedrone which resulted in their death. (Cooper)

Generally, mephedrone increases your alertness, confidence, and makes you more
talkative. Like ecstasy, it makes you want to touch things and will temporarily give you a strong
feeling of affection for those around you. It reduces your appetite and may cause anxiety and
paranoid states. (Mephedrone) In 2012 there was study done in the UK to assess the effects that
mephedrone has on users. They found that compared with controls, mephedrone users had
generally impaired prose recall and higher scores in schizotypy and depression. Mephedrone
acutely primed a marked wanting for the drug, induced stimulant-like effects. Impaired
working memory and enhanced psychomotor speed. Impulsivity in mephedrone users correlated
with the number of hours in an average (nearly 8 hour) mephedrone session. (Freeman et all)
Mephedrone can also cause fits, irregular heart beating, shakes, dizziness and cramps.
(Mephedrone Bubble and Meow) One user has said that,

My short term memory is terrible and I dont recognize people in the way that I use
to[there has been some] research that shows that there is a link to lasting brain damage
in those that have done mephedrone. It has not been proven in humans, only in rats. I
can see the similarities between this study and my own personal experience and others
around me. The bit where they describe the rats behavior when shown something that it

has been familiar with in the past but in no longer familiar with it, I can fully relate to.
Example: After taking a large amount of mephedrone one night I went down to pour
myself some water and found myself just staring at a mug and literally thinking wtf is
this. (Pedro-the-fisherman)

Mephedrone can either be taken orally, snorted, or injected. By mouth and nose are the
most common ways. Effects happen within 15 minutes when snorted but only last for about an
hour. Snorting leads to nose bleeds and sores which increases the risk of catching Hepatitis or
HIV if snorting equipment is shared. If mephedrone is swallowed it take longer for the effects to
kick in, but the high can last up to 2-3 hours. Swallowing causes an unpleasant taste in the
mouth as well as pain in the stomach. (Mephedrone Bubble and Meow) When it is injected it
has the nickname of M-smack. The side effects of injecting are skin erosion, localized
infections, blisters, spots, cold sores, limb abscesses, scabs, lumps, gangrenous tissue, blood
clots, large holes at overused injecting sites, permanent numbness in the leg, and even spasms
which reminded the researchers of sufferers of Parkinsons disease. (Bramhall)

Some common nicknames are meph, m-cat, meow meow, plant food, drone, and
bubbles. Although the name mephedrone sounds like methadone, they are very different.
Methadone is a prescription pain killer. It is also used as a substitute drug in the treatment of
morphine and heroin addiction.

Mephedrone is an illegal drug similar to ecstasy. It is fairly new so not a lot is known
about it. There have studies done, as well as testimonies from users given, that give insight to
the short term effects. However, it is too early to know much about the longer term ones. It is
most commonly seen in the UK, but it can be found anywhere due to the selling of in on the
internet. It has never been classified as a medication but it was considered a legal high until
2009. Studies and surveys have shown that it is becoming more and more popular, especially
among teens and party-goers.

Works Cited
Bramhall, Paul. "Injecting Mephedrone: What Are The Risks?" Talking Drugs. 28 June 2013.
Web. 8 Nov. 2014.
Cooper, Rob. "Two Party-goers Die after Lethal Cocktail of Former Legal High Drug 'bubble'
and Drink during an 'all Nighter' with Friends." Daily Mail. Associated Newspaper Ltd, 29 Apr.
2013. Web. 8 Nov. 2014.
Doward, Jaime. "Mephedrone More Popular since Being Banned Survey." The Guardian.
Guardian News, 10 Mar. 2012. Web. 8 Nov. 2014.
"Drug Facts: Khat." National Institute on Drug Abuse. National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1 Apr.
2013. Web. 8 Nov. 2014.
Freeman, T. P., Morgan, C. J. A., Vaughn-Jones, J., Hussain, N., Karimi, K. and Curran, H. V.
(2012), Cognitive and subjective effects of mephedrone and factors influencing use of a new
legal high. Addiction, 107: 792800. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2011.03719.x, 18 Jan. 2012.
Web. 9 Nov. 2014
Gregory, Andrew. "Meow Meow Shock: Deaths Linked to Designer Drug Climb by 480% in
Just One Year." Mirror. 7 Nov. 2012. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.
"Mephedrone." Know the Score. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.
"Mephedrone - Bubble and Meow." Connect Young People. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.
Nordqvist, Christian. "What is mephedrone? What are the effects of mephedrone?." Medical
News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 9 Sep. 2014. Web. 10 Nov. 2014
Pedro-the-fisherman. "Ex-Mephedrone User Really Worried about Long-term Brain
Damage." Reddit. 26 Nov. 2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.
Strange, Philip. "Letting the Khat out of the Bag." The Naked Scientists. University of
Cambridge, 23 May 2011. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.