Surge in number of ‘dance drug’ victims
Saturday 3rd April 2010, 3:00PM BST.
Michael Gafoor, director of the Alcohol and Drugs Service
UP to ten young people have been hospitalised during the past week after taking the dance drug mephedrone.
They were admitted to A&E suffering from seizures, hallucinations and panic attacks after taking the plant food, which is also known as meow meow.
The surge in the number of users suffering serious side-effects has led Health chiefs and the States police to issue a warning, reminding users that as well as being highly dangerous, the drug is illegal in Jersey.
Michael Gafoor, director of the Alcohol and Drugs Service, said that they had seen a worrying increase in users.
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Don’t these people read/watch the news? Unbelievable that anyone can be that desperate for kicks.
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Plant food?
Please do some research JEP or Mr Gafoor.
From Wiki….
Media organisations including the BBC and The Guardian incorrectly reported that mephedrone was commonly used as a plant fertiliser. In fact sellers of the drug describe it as “plant food” as it is illegal to sell the compound for human consumption.[6]
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It’s plant fertilizer!!!!! People are so weird – why would you want to take this substance??
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Well, it looks like all the media publicity that this stuff has been getting is working!
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Yup these people are desperate…. how classy… (not)
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For a bit of balance, why not the public how many “young people” ended up in A&E for Alcohol in the same period ? Or how many adults are curently in the process of dying from Achohol or Ciggy’s ?
Something like 80K people died in UK last year from smoking related illness, 9K from Alcohol.
Total alarmist as usual – if this was about public heath surely Alcohol and Tobacco would be banded. Making this drug illegal is a nice little earner for the support services, police, prisons etc. The war of drugs failed – but keeps some in a job with a nice budget…
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What’s really sad is that the time of doctors and nurses, and taxpayers’ money, was spent providing care for these people.
It’s time they were charged.
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Dance drug? Thats rather an unfair catagorisation I feel!
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@getyourfactsright.
Brilliant! Taking the word of a dodgy website well known for it’s inaccuracies over a guy who is hugely knowledgable and an expert on the subject.
It would have been more credible to say, well, this bloke down the pub told me…
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Onto a more serious note,
Would anyone know where I can get Bougain plant food for my Bougainvillea?
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4-MMC is synthetic drug created for human consumption. It isn’t plant food, never has been and nowhere to be found is a gardener who would ever feed any of their plants amphetamines, MDMA or cocaine.
4-MMC is derived from the active ingredient of khat.
The JEP journalists, seeing an easy story over their Easter Hols, have simply dipped the tabloids of the UK for some sensation.
People take drugs ( legal or otherwise ) because they enjoy doing so. If the 10 admitted to hospital were not expecting hallucinations, panic attacks and palpitations, etc then perhaps the Advisory Council should sharpen up it’s act.
Education not criminalisation.
WIWELAD.
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@Big Bean…
” Brilliant! Taking the word of a dodgy website well known for it’s inaccuracies over a guy who is hugely knowledgable and an expert on the subject.
It would have been more credible to say, well, this bloke down the pub told me… ”
For dodgy websites look no further than the one you’ve just commented on. It was probably written by that very guy down the pub!!
Education not criminalisation.
WIWALAD
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@9 – Big Bean
Could you tell me a bit more about mephedrone being used as plant food? I’d be really interested to know how this substance has become a favourite with gardeners? Do you actually believe that this is really used to promote growth in plants? Wise up monvieux.
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@big bean
This info is everywhere, Wiki was easiest.
Why not do something constructive and add to the debate?
Expert? Really? As I said, either him or the JEP can’t get their facts right.
Why don’t you go and have a look for yourself instead of believing everything the “the experts” say??
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Balance comment 6 – balance
For a bit of balance, why not the public how many “young people” ended up in A&E for Alcohol in the same period ? Or how many adults are curently in the process of dying from Achohol or Ciggy’s ?
Shh people don’t want to hear that, there’s nothing wrong with a couple of bottles of wine in front of the telly and forcing the rest of the family to suffer passive smoking, I’ve enjoyed a lifetime of chronic asthma cos my parents thought the same.
Half of all smokers will dies of it and half of those that don’t will suffer smoking related illness, it’s perfectly safe. As for alcohol, the recent ads on TV showing the effects of just a couple of strong beers every night really show what damage is being done to “casual” drinkers. None of this matters though as it’s all taxable, never mind that we are burying theM faster than we can process the tax.
Clearly our kids should not be taking this drug ( or any other ) , but you can hardly expect them to take notice of someone who drinks and smokes and tells them so. At least they have a better than 50% chance of survival with their drug of choice.
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@11 & 12.
My point was not about mephedrone being used or not being used as plant food (I could’t care less to be honest); it was about ‘wikipedia’ and that it is hardly a reliable source of information.
I don’t know if Mr Gafoor is right or wrong. However, I am sure that he has researched the subject, and my guess is that his research is more than flicking through a few pages on ‘wiki’
WIWALAD – it sounds as if you have researched; fair play to you. I’d be interested to know what source of information you used.
And I totally agree with your comment about not relying on this forum as a source of information, which is similar to what my point was about in the first place!
JCAT – no need to wise up on my part, like I said, until it has been proved or disproved, I reserve my judgement. but thanks for the advise anyway.
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I dont think its neccesary to put talcum powder in your nose,plant food up your “ARSE” or take disco biscuits.
Simply change the music you listen to.
Put the Vengaboys on and all sing
“we like to party”!
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I expected this to happen youngsters must not follow the stupid act of another user of drugs,
Someone was to blame? drop them like a hot iron that is not frendship bad news.
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Once again can I plead with subscribers to this page to read www. transform drug policy. Only then will be able to make rational decisions. The war on drugs and just say no campaigns have not worked. Please read this site.
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Big Bean, Meph/MM4/meow meow has never been plant food. Never will be. If Mr Garfoor genuinely believes otherwise then he is either lazy in his research, has been mis quoted or is yet another ‘expert’ guiding Jersey on policy when he is out of his depth.
With respect, I advise you to take my advice. I’m pretty confident on this one.
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No19 Maybe I’ve missed something, but what is the point in us reading it?
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J-cat, with respect, I am not saying it is plant food. And to be honest, I couldn’t care less whether it is or not.
I get my highs on life, no need to stick anything up my nose, regardless of whether it is plant food or not!
And again, with respect, If I was that concerned, I would take the time to do my own research and not take the word of an anonymous poster on a website who I know nothing about.
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WIWALAD (# 11 & 12)is right to say education is very important, but it won’t work by itself. Laws and law enforcement also have a part to play in controlling substance abuse (by that I mean alcohol, tobacco and drugs).
Now to reply to the exponents of legalisation. As someone else has discussed, it is bad enough with the substances that are already legal, vis-a-vis tobacco and alcohol. Do we really want to add to the problem? If we make drugs legally available it will open up a big can of worms (and I don’t mean through hallucinations).
Before pharmaceutical drugs are released on to the market they are tested so ensure they are safe to administer or consume. The concoctions that are in illicit drugs are unlikely to be very good for you and have the potential to do very serious damage to your body, or even kill you. Ah yes, now people will say if we legalise currently illegal drugs and test them, they could be safe. Well most pharmaceutical drugs have side effects and they are supposed to help us when we are ill. With those illnesses that can be cured, once we get better we stop taking the medicine and the side effects stop. For those unfortunate people who have to continually take pharmaceutical drugs, they always have to contend with the side effects. People who take illicit drugs will always be faced with side effects which over time may impact on their physical or mental health, as cigarettes and alcohol do today
It is universally recognised that alcohol and tobacco have a major impact on health. If we make now make other drugs legally available, this will surely raise the potential for even more health problems. Then we will be faced with the irresponsible consumption of substances that can change your mood and can cause long term mental illness, including paranoia and psychosis. Do you seriously want that to happen to your family and friends?
Jersey has a problem with drinking and driving. If you legalise drugs you will increase the potential for people to drive under the influence of drugs, or a combination of alcohol and drugs. I have seen the resultant damage this has caused at road traffic collisions, where people have been killed or seriously injured. Do you seriously want that to happen to your loved ones?
Yes, people are right when they say the authorities can’t win the war on drugs. No; but they can make it more difficult for people to obtain them and deter people from dealing, possessing and taking drugs. I am sure there are many more people who would have tried narcotics if they had been legal and this would have had the potential to have ruined many more lives. Do you really want to open Pandora’s box?
.
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I am terrible at dancing. If I took this drug would it make me John travolta?
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#20 J-Cat
Technically it is plant food, its major ingredient in plant food and is used as a fertiliser. I know because I’ve used it, and I mean for plants not up my nose. You can’t exactly buy it in your local garden centre, I used it at Uni years ago in an experiment, so I’m unsure how you’re so confident you’re correct. Mr Garfoor may not be 100% correct, but his point is that people are taking it and ending up in hospital. Plant food or not its putting people in hospital because people are mislead and believe it to be a relatively safe high.
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You’ll find that the only problems you get taking legal highs occur when they have been taken with other drugs such as alcohol. Any drug on its own will never do as much damage as when you take it with alcohol…
ban alcohol full stop! No more drink drivers, no more alcohol fueled fights, no more alcohol related accidents! Make cannabis legal and tax it to make up for the deficit but for heaven’s sake i think it’s pretty obvious which drugs (legal or illegal) cause the most problems.
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As if it weren’t bad enough seeing the town full of youngsters completely hammered on alcopops, we now have them completely pollenated on mephedrone..
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@25 Jay550
It’s ABSOLUTLEY NOT an ingredient in plant food, why are you making such a nonsensical claim?
This whole hype is media nonsense YET AGAIN about recreational drugs.
Brass Eye satirised this 13 years ago and still the media don’t get the message.
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I thought the trend was to go organic these days.
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#28 Rich Ambler
If its not an plant food, then why do all the media say it is? Are they all incorrect? You can use it by itself or with other ingredients, plant food isn’t a set mixture. This claim is as I said, because I’ve used it to grow plants in a controlled enviroment and mixed it with other compounds to create a plant food.
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I just love some of the pseudonyms used on the J.E.P. discussion boards. Ewan Mee, Edna Cloud and now I have just seen Dermot Itis and the wonderful comment….”completely pollenated on mephedrone..” The newspaper should publish a book on some of the more memorable quotes, it would make a fortune.
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#30 Jay550
Much of the media have misreported the facts, Mephodrone is marketed as “plant food” purely because it’s illegal to sell it for human consumption – it’s not for plants though and could just as easily be marketed as toilet cleaner or wallpaper stripper.
Real plant food would at least contain lots of nitrogen and potassium.
I’m intrigued by your use of it at university, a very expensive way to try and grow tomatoes.
A good article about the “dance drug” is here: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18712-miaowmiaow-on-trial-truth-or-trumpedup-charges.html?full=true&print=true
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From Wiklipedia ‘In fact sellers of the drug describe it as “plant food” as it is illegal to sell the compound for human consumption.’ One issue with it is that it IS addictive, and you build up a tolerance quickly, thus needing bigger doses. In Guernsey the number of users has dropped dramatically now it’s illegal, so just the hardcore druggies that will take whatever drugs they can are left – and they’re injecting it. When you stop using it you become depressed and a relatively high percentage of users (compared to other drugs) commit suicide – it takes about 8 weeks to get over that stage. Hope that helps.
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Let the idiots take it
The mass funerals of the stupid will be a better deterrent than any law could hope to be.
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1000′s of teenagers now make a b-line for the dance drug mephedrone amid an advertising campaign coca coal would die for.
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All I have to say on the matter is that anyone here scorning those taking mephedrone (which I do not take personally) had better not be a smoker, drinker or, in fact enjoy tea or coffee. If you do – you’re a hypocrite.
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Chris (comment 36) Did anyone ever die from drinking a cup of tea?I enjoy a couple of cups a day but if it wasn’t intended for human consumption I would avoid it like the plague!
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Julie
I accept your point of view but is an infusion of leaves from a tea plant, or any other fancy herbal brew, any more or less intended for human consumption than an infusion of leaves from a cannabis plant?
Neither will kill you.
It would bring a new meaning to the word ‘teapot’!
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Chris #36
Wake up and smell the coffee
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I have to agree with grumpygit on this one. I had never even heard of mephodrone until a few weeks ago. Now I want nothing more than to get some to try!
what an ad campaign!
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They should get a bill for the cost of their care – when they have a moan on Facebook this will do more to discourage their network of buddies than any amount of campaigning!
“I can’t go out tonight ‘cos I owe £3,500 and have to pay £100 weekly to the hospital!” would do the job nicely!
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Cathy @ 41. I absolutley agree. And this should not just be retricted to people who end up in hosital for taking drugs. It should apply to smokers, drinkers and the ever growing population of obese people.
That may help people take responsibility for their health and change their lifestyle if it was to hit them in the wallet.
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@41&42 – Yeah and people should pay when the fall over and break their leg, they should be more careful! We want ill people to be hugely indebted to the state “Sorry you’ve just had severe cancer but you know, since you smoke here’s your £20,000 Bill” “Overdose, oh we would treat you but I dont think you can afford it”. We would be worse than America (now thanks to the new health care reform over there), I mean why would pay social, if not to pay for my future liver Disease!
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Check out Erowid.org who have over the years tested nearly every drug known to man….http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/4_methylmethcathinone/4_methylmethcathinone.shtml
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RB. Yes. Erowid should be a public service. I’ve done most things over decades. I live a fulfilling family life and have been in employment during the whole experience. Following the advice of testimonials and providing your own reactions rapidly narrows the risk and highlights dosage parameters for any want-to-tries.
There is no pretence that any of the substances are ‘safe’. None at all. The risk comes from the unregulated profiteering.
In the same way that hardcore drugs such as SSRIs are strictly dosed, or indeed paracetomol or statins, recreational drugs could be made much, much safer.
4-mmc need not be a problem if the well-known and tested effects of controlled and high quality MDMA were regulated.
The cause of deaths and the scare is not the chemical itself, but the total lack of comprehension by the architects of reactionary legislators.
Drugs ARE bad, but they don’t need to be any nore fatal than anything else.
Nect time you see a kid necking a red bull, ask yourself a question; why is that acceptable? Read the stats.
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btw, the typos are due to after work alcohol!
Stick that in your fags and drink it!
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43. You’ve totally missed the point. Recreational drugs are a choice – a broken leg is an accident – big difference!
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Does this mean Miracle-Gro is gonna replace Viagra?!?!
If young Tom was to try tomato feed would this make him Tomorite?! (or wrong??!)
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#42 Totally, it’s not a popular opinion but hitting people in the pocket is possibly the only way to get them to take more responsibility for their own actions. It’s that, raising SS contributions, or simply losing the standard of health service we have.
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