Mephedrone in the UK

July 28th, 2011

4.4% of Brits between the ages of 16-24 have used mephedrone in the past year, according
to the British Crime Survey. This is nearly the same percentage of people who have used cocaine.

Mephedrone, popularly known as “meow meow”, is a synthetic drug with effects similar to MDMA. It was legal in the UK until 2010, when parliament passed a law reclassifying it as a schedule B drug. Mephedrone was created by Cambodian chemists and became available for widespread purchase online and in headshops by the year 2007. It became instantly popular throughout the UK club scene due to its energizing effects.

Despite the parliamentary ban, “meow meow” remains the most popular club drug in the UK, trumping cocaine and ecstasy. This may be in part due to its relatively recent admission to the “hard drugs” list. The lack of stigma attached to mephedrone belies the fact that it carries many of the same health risks as MDMA and cocaine, the two drugs it was designed to approximate.