Aberdeen clubs lead fight against M-Cat

PUBS and clubs in Aberdeen are leading the battle against ‘legal high’ M-Cat.

Mephedrone, known as M-Cat or Bubbles, is the latest drug craze to sweep Britain.

Police in Humberside said they believed the drug contributed to the deaths of teenagers Louis Wainwright, 18, and Nicholas Smith, 19.

The pair had been drinking in Scunthorpe until the early hours of Monday.

And officers have arrested a 26-year-old man, a 20-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy in connection with their deaths.

Pub and club owners in Aberdeen vowed to treat M-Cat as seriously as a Class A drug like heroin or cocaine.

M-Cat is not illegal to buy or possess as it is not controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Grampian Police have already reported “significant” seizures of the drug in the Aberdeen area.

The force also became the first in the UK to test for mephedrone during a major Aberdeen operation.

The Unight Aberdeen group, which includes 23 of the city’s pubs and clubs, agreed to ban anyone caught in possession of mephedrone.

The convener of Grampian Joint Police Board, Martin Greig, urged the rest of the UK to adopt Aberdeen’s measures in tackling mephedrone use.

He said: “It is very welcome that Unight have taken such a strong stance and I hope others will follow.”

A police report said Aberdeen Royal Infirmary had treated at least one overdose case believed “to have been as a result of taking Mephedrone”.

dewen@ajl.co.uk