Australian clubbers and students are purchasing a new designer drug billed as a cross between cocaine and ecstasy over the internet.
Experts are quickly becoming alarmed at the growing popularity of the mystery drug Mephedrone, known on the street as MM-Cat, Plant Food, Meow and 4-MMC, and fear that it could be used as students celebrate the end of exams and the beginning of schoolies week.
The latest legal high is being pushed on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, with NSW Police saying that they were aware of the drug, but played down its spread, while users and experts are divided over the drug’s legality.
The drug, which is available in both powder and pill form, has been officially prohibited in Norway, Finland, Denmark, Israel and Sweden, but is still legal in Britain, which is the main exporter of the drug.
One user said that the drug is likely to destroy the Sydney cocaine market, and that people are trying to buy up big, organizing bulk shipments from China and the UK because it’s only a matter of time before the drug is banned.
Sydney drug and alcohol researcher Paul Dillon said that he was blown away by the number of chat room forums sharing experiences of the drug.
He said that he has never seen such a positive buzz about a drug on the internet in his entire career.