Wait for evidence on new party drug

The synthetic drug mephedrone is taking Europe's party scene by storm. The new substance is still legal but the EU European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Abuse (EMCDDA) is gathering evidence of harms to decide whether it should be banned. The UK should wait for the results of the EU assessment before it passes its own legislation on the use of the drug, the British daily The Guardian advises: "Is mephedrone harmful? Because its use is so recent there is relatively little evidence on this point, but from its pharmacology we could not make the assumption that it would be completely safe, especially at high doses. Users report effects such as a faster heart rate as one would expect from a stimulant. In the UK, there have been scare stories of mephedrone deaths, but so far none has been proven, though mephedrone was involved in the death of a Swedish teenager in 2008. The Israel experience was that it could lead to repetitive use and stereotyped behaviours in some users consistent with the likely release of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain."

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