Drugs for youth via Internet and the example of mephedrone

• Published in: Toxicology letters Vol. 201; no. 3; pp. 191 - 195
• Main Authors: Vardakou, I., Pistos, C., Spiliopoulou, Ch
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 25.03.2011; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Central Nervous System Stimulants - poisoning; Designer Drugs; Humans; Internet; Legal highs; Legislation, Drug; Medical sciences; Mephedrone; Methamphetamine - analogs & derivatives; Methamphetamine - poisoning; Rats; Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology; Toxicology; Youth; Mephedrone; Youth; Legal highs; Internet; Adolescents; Designer drugs; Human; Drug; Legislation; Adolescent
• ISSN: 0378-4274; 1879-3169
• DOI: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2010.12.014

Recently a new class of “designer drugs” has emerged on the drugs abuse market, known as “legal highs”. Such drugs are legal to use and possess, and legal to supply. Mephedrone, a central nervous system stimulant, is the most widely experienced “legal high”. This review presents any available information about psychoactive properties, safety profile, clinical data, and legislation of the new “legal high” and emphasizes the role of Internet with mephedrone's expansion. Available data were collected by various literature search engines and World Wide Web. All valuable information about psychoactive properties, safety profile and clinical data for mephedrone and its use as “legal high” were managed to spot and summarise. Internet plays a significant role for the distribution of “legal highs”, becoming one of the major “drug market”. Adolescents and young adults who are curious about drugs may search on the Internet and thereby become exposed to thousands of sites that expound upon the positive effects of drugs and downplay or deny any negative effects. Use of mephedrone is mainly a youth phenomenon. The hazardous side-effects are strong desire to re-dose, uncomfortable changes in body temperature and heart rate, hallucinations and psychosis.