Mephedrone – The Case for Admittance into the Untaxable Drugs' Hall of Fame
Written by Oliver Downing
For the last decade, legal designer-drugs have been making a name for themselves in certain circles and surprising many that it's possible to get high legally.

Since it was first synthesised in 2007, Mephedrone has made more of an impact on the counter-culture than all of its chemically similar predecessors. It could even be argued something of a renaissance of the MDMA-driven phenomenon of the early 90s.

Tens of thousands of people are seeing the legal status of Mephedrone as a green light, indicating that, at last, a safe drug has been found. Some who wouldn't otherwise touch recreational drugs because fear that the government's legendarily unbiased assessment of such substances might be true. This, in itself, might not be the too worrying: other, less controversial, legal drugs exist which they would be just as likely to take if the opportunity presented itself. But the social change in such people, a desire for experimentation with illegal substances, might be the true negative effect on such people lives.

More worryingly are the people with a pre-held preference for such experimentation. Undoubtedly, the number of fatalities when compared with the number of people who have tried the drug has been disproportionally represented by the media. This is to be expected. But what really seems to be the problem with Mephedrone is its tendency to be used in conjunction with other drugs, particularly MDMA. The majority of recorded fatalities have been a result of mixing Mephedrone with other scheduled substances. Basically, the danger of the drug itself is probably no more than any of the other substances currently illegal, but when combined with other substances it seems to take on particularly dangerous properties. The combination of Mephedrone and MDMA seem to be particularly treacherous. I am not suggesting that people are blindly taking this drug simply because it is legal, but that its status, as legal, may increase there potential to go beyond their own limits.

Furthermore, if we compare this Mephedrone with MDMA, any medical professional, if forced to advise the use of one over the other, would almost certainly have a preference for MDMA. MDMA was first synthesised almost one-hundred, thus, we have huge amounts of data from which we can advise suitable circumstances, guidelines for taking such a drug, and gather statistics which give takers a reasonable idea of how dangerous the drugs is. This is evidence we simply don't have for Mephedrone. This only comes from years of research; this is why the research LJMU plan to do before it is made illegal is very important and should probably be allowed to continue afterwards.

Combine the lack of information with the fact that people in positions of authority, like David Nutt, say that taking ecstasy is relatively safe compared with other pursuits one could take on, such as horse riding. It is not a huge leap in logic to believe that people will presume Mephedrone to be even safer than MDMA.

Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the case. Disregarding the fatality statistics, the side-effects of Mephedrone suggest that it is be far more harmful than MDMA. The extremity and unique characteristics of its come-down would certainly suggest so. But the fact is we simply don't know and every time someone takes this drug we do not know what will happen, though, that can be said of all drugs, even ones we have known of and used for years.

A good example of the confusion which can result from a legal status of a drug and its implications is the recently reported story by the Blackpool Gazette. The story suggest that teens in Blackpool have been attempting to buy plant food from garden centres in an attempt high. This kind of ridiculous story is the result of the legal loophole which requires this drug to be marketed as plant food and labelled not for human consumption. Admittedly, this kind of story is very rare and, in the light that a quick internet search could dispel the illusion they were labouring under, these people are probably better off out of the gene pool. If Mephedrone was illegal this confusion could ever have happened because no one in their right mind thinks that Mephedrone is similar to plant food in any way.

Having said that, I do acknowledge there is an argument for the legalisation of all drugs. What I am trying to get across is the disparity of the message sent out by one substance – which could have radical long-term effect which we don't know of – being legal and another – which has been acknowledge as being 'statistically safe' to take by authoritative sources – being illegal.

Unfortunately, I think the potential to have a society with no illegal substances disappeared in 1929. Our culture has got used to having these 'evils' and making them legal would do more harm than good. Having taboos in society is essential and the status of such substances might actually enrich our society in other ways.

The most important thing is the pursuit of true liberty: being able to act as one pleases without decreasing someone else's ability to act how he/she pleases. And in that way a think we have things about right: rarely will someone be charged for possession of drugs unless their addictive behaviour leads them to commit other criminal offences. The police and courts are not the hypocritical, out-of-touch freaks they are made out to be, at least the people within the courts aren't anyway. They are just aspiring towards a society which is unfortunately limited by misguided decisions made by past generations. In reality, if people want to take drugs, with a little common scene, they can do with very few problems.

When Mephedrone is made illegal, I very much doubt it will change the behaviour of the already converted, but it will eradicate the disparity in the message these regulations send out to people, and force people into thinking more about their actions before they choose whether or not to take such drugs. The price will not change too much, though there will be some effect as the drug will have to be synthesised in Britain, rather than imported from China. And in the unlikely event someone if arrested and charged for possession, the excuse that they did not know it was illegal will be used for at least five years.

Perhaps the biggest impact will be the increased paranoia levels of an, already, uninspiring high.