Warning over M-Cat drug craze
First Aberdeen overdose victim reported
Published:
HEALTH bosses in Aberdeen today raised concern over a potentially deadly drug that’s legal.
Grampian Drugs and Alcohol Partnership highlighted fears over M-Cat after the first overdose of the drug in the Aberdeen area was reported.
The chemical Mephedrone is sold as a plant food and labelled “not for human consumption”.
Teenagers in the Aberdeen area may think the drug is safe because it is legal, Grampian Drugs and Alcohol Partnership has heard.
A Grampian Drugs and Alcohol Partnership spokesman said: “It appears to be used mainly by younger people, including those of secondary school age and students.
“Using Mephedrone can lead to unpredictable effects on the individual and very little is known about both the short and long-term effects on health.
“It has, however, been linked to numerous incidents of poisoning and, in some cases, deaths.”
The Aberdeen overdose victim, whose identity has been made confidential, had to be taken to hospital by ambulance after poisoning themselves with the drug, Grampian Police Insp Andy Imray said.
“This is the first one in Grampian where the 999 call has recorded somebody they suspect of overdosing on Mephedrone,” the Grampian Police officer said.
“As more and more evidence of people poisoning themselves, or Mephedrone being linked to any kind of death comes to the fore, it pushes the drug up the scale of harm.”
Despite its legal status, clubs and pubs signed up to the Aberdeen Unight scheme – a group of Aberdeen venues which work together to cut crime – have decided to ban anyone found with Mephedrone from their premises.
