Byline: BRIAN WHELAN
A KILLER drug has hit Irish streets that is cheaper than cocaine, more dangerous than ecstasy and can be bought without leaving your home.
Cash-strapped youths hit hard by the recession are turning to a new dangerous cocaine substitute which can be ordered online.
The experimental designer drug mephedrone has been banned by most governments in the EU including Ireland but internet users as young as 16 can import it from the UK at a fraction of the cost of other drugs.
A bag of mephedrone, or "meow", costs just EUR11 online making it up to 10 times cheaper than so-called party drugs such as coke or MDMA.
Sold as an experimental compound or plant food, mephedrone is fast becoming a popular, cheap and readily available high for clubbers, who can no longer afford expensive Class A drugs.
However, the long-term effects are currently unknown and the drug has already been linked to a spate of deaths across Europe.
Known side-effects include rashes, nightmares, and "forget-ting" to breathe when combined with alcohol and paranoia.
It is extremely easy to import with websites in Britain and the North happily shipping to Dublin. Our reporter was able to obtain a bag of the drug within just two days of placing an online order.
Teenagers with access to a credit card can stock up on the drug with charges appearing as harmless transactions. Users, who either snort the drug like cocaine or swallow larger amounts wrapped in paper, have reported becoming quickly addicted
One person told of their experience with the drug and warned of the potential horrific effects it can have on users. The user said: "It's easily available online and legal. I'd be careful with it though because it's a research chemical and there's been no research on its toxicity.
"There are reports about people's limbs turning blue after using it."
Another user of the drug said it was becoming a favourite with festival-goers and students.
They explained that they were willing to risk their safety because the drug was available so freely at low cost.
One student said: "I was going to get MDMA, we're going to a festival in a week, but its EUR70 a gram and we are all poor, so I heard about meow and I said why not."
The drug is sold under its chemical name 4-Methylmethcathinone, as well as popular nicknames such as mephedrone, 4-MMC and meow.
CAPTION(S):
ADDICTIVE Mephedrone
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