The trouble with bubble (From The Northern Echo)

The trouble with bubble

11:33am Monday 22nd March 2010 in Mephedrone: The Dangers

Teesdale, in County Durham, was one of the first places in the country where mephedrone became popular. Will Roberts investigates how the problem has affected the area.

OVER the years Keith Jones, or Joe to those who know him, has seen Teesdale’s young people get old.

He’s seen the trends come and go but speaking about one current trend, his voice audibly changes.

He’s talking about mephedrone only a couple of days after the deaths of two teenagers from Scunthorpe who had taken the drug.

“To me users are losers,” says Mr Jones, who runs Teesdale Community Resources youth group. “There is a massive demand for it at the moment. You can go on the internet and buy it as easy as you would go into a shop and buy sherbert and that is worrying – very worrying.”

Young people in Teesdale seem fairly wellbehaved, certainly compared to some parts of the region, so it is perhaps a surprise that it is here the popularity of mephedrone, aka M-Cat, Miaow or bubble has spread compared to the rest of the region and further away.

“We won’t speak to young people on a oneto- one basis about mephedrone in public, but it’s clear to me that the drug is more prevalent in Teesdale than it has ever been and it’s my experience that young people aged from 15 are using it,” says Keith.

“Because it’s legal they almost boast about it and they don’t seem afraid to talk about it openly. It has been marketed by those who peddle it as a recreational drug but that sends out the wrong message because the effects it has are certainly not recreational. They might start out like that but the end result for families is devastating.”

Police in Barnard Castle have become experts in mephedrone, which causes side effects including nosebleeds, nose burns, hallucinations, vomiting, anxiety, paranoia, fits and delusions.

“If you step out of Teesdale and look at other areas of the country the drug is becoming more and more popular,” says Acting Sergeant Mick Urwin. “In Teesdale we have seen seven people taken to hospital as a result of mephedrone use.

“Taking mephedrone is a gamble – it affects people in different ways and someone new to the drug doesn’t know how much to take or what effect it is going to have. They may suffer no ill effects, but they may suffer possible life-threatening effects.”

THE problem concerning the police is that, despite mephedrone’s links to deaths and its side-effects, young people are free to carry it and take it whenever they want.

Chris Johnson, chairman of Barnard Castle Pub Watch, says: “As a group, mephedrone is something which we think is damaging the night life in Barnard Castle.

“Speaking to police and other members it seems that one of the side effects of the product is that people can get quite aggressive, which isn’t good.

“At the moment members are limited to what we can do. It seems like the kids aren’t taking this openly, they are taking it before they come out. If members see people with a white powder all we are urging them to do is treat it as if it could be cocaine, so that means getting the police to confiscate it and test it.

“At the moment the people who supply it can buy it legally, but if that changes the same people will be able to buy it illegally, if they want to. So changing the law doesn’t necessarily end the problem.”

At Teesdale School, police have held assemblies highlighting the dangers of the drug.

Assistant headteacher John Southeran says: “We’ve not had any reason to suspect our students have taken mephedrone, but in Barnard Castle and the surrounding areas, as with all young people, there is a danger that things are experimented with without people being fully aware of what could happen. We are working to address that at the school.”

There is a fear that if, or indeed when, mephedrone is criminalised as Lord Mandleson hinted last week, then another legal high, with a slightly tweaked chemical formula, will come on the market. That would mean police, youth leaders and drug counselling teams would be back to square one.

One thing that everyone agrees is that while making it illegal is a positive move, the only way the problem will be solved is through educating young people that with the high comes a dangerous, potentially fatal comedown.

Mephedrone’s popularity isn’t a result of peer pressure. It seems that young people aren’t having the white powder thrust into their hands, but instead are researching it and making an informed decision about it.

“Mephedrone needs to be made illegal, but that is not the end of the matter,” says Robin Greenwell, chairman of Durham Agency Against Crime.

“There are loads of legal highs and when this one goes others will come along. If we are always playing catch-up, then we will get nowhere with this.

“We need to make sure that there is a mechanism in place so that when a substance like this comes along we can nip it in the bud.”