I am of course talking about Mephedrone, the latest drug taking over clubs. Little is known about the drug apart from it was made roughly around 18 months ago and casual drug users haven taken to use it as it has similar effects to ecstasy, yet unlike ecstasy it is not 'illegal'. Firstly the idea that it is a 'legal high' is a misconception. It is intended to be sold as plant food, not a legal high and as such is actually illegal to sell for human consumption. However if a human wants to eat plant food, similar to a tramp drinking methylated spirits, there is nothing by law the government can do to stop you.
This looks soon to change however after recent deaths linked to Mephedrone, the keyword being linked. Of the 18 deaths in this country and 7 in Scotland none can positively be attributed to have been caused by Mephedrone itself. However this has not stopped the current government from rushing through a regulation to make the drug classified as illegal. This is despite the fact that there has been no scientific research completed into Mephedrone yet. Without having the evidence to make an informed and intelligent decision there is the possibility of a spate of unfair punishments to both users and distributers.
The main problem with the drugs policy in this country is the attitude of the enforcers, similar to that of the current sex education policy. There should be a greater concentration on educating people, particularly youths, into the problems and negative effects of drug use rather than a complete 0% usage idea. Making them illegal pushes the drugs to the fringes of society, which can cause more deaths as the drugs become harder to come by and poorly made. It also adds an air of 'being cool' to the drug, which many young people in particular will abuse as a form of rebellion. Some of the blame for the romanticism of drug abuse must lie with the media, with programs like Skins and 'characters' like Pete Doherty seemingly abusing drugs without consequence. By educating people and allowing them to make their own informed and intelligent decisions hopefully there will be a decline in drug addicts and a cleaner society.
it's the simple words "this is bad, don't do it" that makes kids want to do it.
ReplyDeleteI despise Pete Doherty with a passion, he has avoided prison on numerous occasions with no consequences. And you're right, people like him and programmes like Skins have simultaneously created a teenage lifestyle that demands reckless drug&alcohol fuelled behaviour.
At the risk of sounding like an 'old fart' when we were younger there weren't programmes like Skins that provided a 'cool' example of life. We just went with the flow. We rebelled with stereotypes and stayed out an extra hour.