Meow Meow and the Media

[Primus]

Has anyone else noticed the recent escalation of media hysteria regarding mephadrone.

What started as kids snorting plant food and calling it Meow Meow now seems to have escalated into a full on Reefer Madness style panic.

After about two weeks of non stop coverage I can't help feeling that newspapers are completely abandoning proper research in order to be able to jump on the bandwagon.

Apparently huge numbers of vulnerable children are stuffing it up their nose with gleeful abandon however for some reason this hasn't been translated into any significant deaths/illness.

There has been four deaths I have seem reported. Two of which had drunk large numbers of alcohol and taken methadone and also taken "some mephadrone", the other two were reported as mephadrone deaths as their teenage friends say they took it. I can't imagine if any of these turn out to have different cause of deaths they will print a correction.

I have also read some real life accounts that read an awful lot like a journalist putting words in teenagers mouths.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/25/drugs-mephedrone-rapid-reaction

Even if you think drugs are evil surely this level of sensationalist reporting is irresponsible.

Why can't even 1 major UK paper grow some vertebrae and actually report the facts or failing that just save themselves some time and reprint their early 90's ecstasy articles.

 

[Primus]

Sorry forgot to point out I think this is mainly a UK hysterical issue. Is this legal in the US?

 

[Schrodinger's Cat]

check out this forum:

http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43273

it's a forum for more intellectually minded drug users.

by the way, when they say "SWIM" they mean "someone who isn't me," it's a way to not self incriminate

When they say "morish" or "moreish" it means that when you're on the drug, the craving for more is very pronounced.

looks like it has mixed reviews. some say it's a great euphoria, some say it's overblown and doesn't do much, some say they've had really bad experiences on it.

Personally, it's too new a drug and there's not enough information about on it. I wouldn't try it without knowing more about it and having seeing it around more for awhile. But as for the story in the post, I would take it as being very overblown (though certainly I agree that teens shouldn't be doing it).

Usually when you hear these horror stories, they're the worst case scenarios but not the typical scenarios. Take ecstacy. The articles about E were almost identical to this above one: oh, it's the worst thing ever, it will ruin your life, you'll be addicted. Look at these kids who have died or turned into drug fiends. Blah blah blah. Well I used to be really big in the club scene in college, and pretty much everyone did E, and yeah there were a couple kids who got addicted and wrecked their lives, but the vast vast majority managed to do it recreationally and not have any problem. (just like with that legal drug alcohol)

But then sometimes you get drugs like meth or oxycontin, that really ARE as bad as the government says they are

That's the problem with governments like the US. They treat all drugs with the same fatalism and lie about the ones that aren't actually a big deal, and then you don't know when they're actually telling the truth about one that really IS wicked dangerous.

 

[Primus]

They have a similar thing in the UK with the classification system. For example heroin, crack and ecstasy are all Class A.

No government would downgrade ecstasy as they say this would encourage use by saying that it is relatively safer.

I always thought the danger is for someone who has tried ecstasy and not had a bad experience may make the logical leap that heroin and crack also have the same low levels of danger and risk of addiction.

"We may have exaggerated last time for your own safety but this time we're really telling the truth" is not a message many teenagers are receptive to.

 

[Monza]

...What started as kids snorting plant food and calling it Meow Meow now seems to have escalated into a full on Reefer Madness style panic...

I wonder if this is some weird off-shoot of kitten huffing?

 

[bluesjnr]

The media, particularly in Scotland are falling over themselves to misrepresent this "drug".

Just the other day, in my local paper, I read the tragic story of Dean Webster who died hours after celebrating his 19th birthday. The known facts are that he died (tragically) "after taking drugs, including the legal high bubbles".

The story written up by Steven Bell on page 3 is entitled "Grieving Mum's bubbles appeal" [sic] although the cause of death has not yet been established. Mum does make an impassioned appeal against methadrone but here in Dundee one has to wonder if she was speaking for herself.

My point is that methedrone has not been established as the cause or even a contributory factor in this young mans death yet the media expect us to accept their condemnation of it unequivocally.

 

[Tsukasa Buddha]

That's not in this area. Here it is all about school kids "sexting".

 

[sinnikal]

Charlie Brooker wrote an excellent piece in 'The Guardian' last week that exposed the problem better than anyone else I've seen. Done with great humour too.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/22/charlie-brooker-newspapers-dangerous-drug

 

[andyandy]

I started a thread on it on the BadScience forum....

There's a couple of issues here

1) is mephedrone dangerous - what are the short term and long term dangers of the drug?
2) how should our drugs policy be run?

With regards to (1) - it's pretty inconclusive at the moment - maybe it's relatively dangerous in terms of addiction/effects, maybe it's relatively benign. Either way, linking the drug to a couple of deaths of teenagers who'd also been drinking heavily and taking methadone is prior to any scientific investigation somewhat premature.

With regards to (2) - I'm not "pro-drugs" - lots of them can do harm, some can completely screw up your life. However, I am in favour of a rational drugs policy. One which takes the control of drugs out of the hands of criminals, one which can regulate what's actually cut with the drugs, one that can provide targeted health advice to users, one that can reduce criminal activity to feed addiction, one that can reduce needle sharing, one that can tax the trade and plough the proceeds into drugs awareness and drug rehabilitation.

Would it be a panecea? Of course not. It's simply a utilitarian solution which provides the greatest benefit for society. We need to de-couple legality from state approval. Making something legal doesn't mean that suddenly something should be regarded as "safe" or something to be encouraged. Ask yourself, is the only thing stopping you from smoking crack the fact that it's illegal? If it was legal would you start injecting heroin? No. With regards lesser drugs, would greater availability of MDMA or pot lead to greater consumption? Possibly, but that's just part of a freer society. It would be taxed, it would be safer, and if you start crunching the numbers might even offer a cost-health benefit if it resulted in lower alcohol consumption....

As long as demand remains pretty static (which it does), then either you have a "failed" drugs policy which allows large quantities of said drug onto the market lowering prices, or you have a "successful" drugs policy which restricts quantities of said drug, massively pushing up prices, enriching criminal gangs and encouraging more movers into the marketplace. More drugs then get through, lowering prices again. It's a self correcting system which adjusts independently of government policy.....which makes the massive amount of money spent on keeping it illegal all a little futile.

 

[andyandy]

Charlie Brooker wrote an excellent piece in 'The Guardian' last week that exposed the problem better than anyone else I've seen. Done with great humour too.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/22/charlie-brooker-newspapers-dangerous-drug

Charlie's article is one of the best I've read from him....

It's perhaps the biggest threat to the nation's mental wellbeing, yet it's freely available on every street – for pennies. The dealers claim it expands the mind and bolsters the intellect: users experience an initial rush of emotion (often euphoria or rage), followed by what they believe is a state of enhanced awareness. Tragically this "awareness" is a delusion. As they grow increasingly detached from reality, heavy users often exhibit impaired decision-making abilities, becoming paranoid, agitated and quick to anger. In extreme cases they've even been known to form mobs and attack people. Technically it's called "a newspaper", although it's better known by one of its many "street names", such as "The Currant Bun" or "The Mail" or "The Grauniad" (see me – Ed).

In its purest form, a newspaper consists of a collection of facts which, in controlled circumstances, can actively improve knowledge. Unfortunately, facts are expensive, so to save costs and drive up sales, unscrupulous dealers often "cut" the basic contents with cheaper material, such as wild opinion, ********, empty hysteria, reheated press releases, advertorial padding and photographs of Lady Gaga with her bum hanging out. The hapless user has little or no concept of the toxicity of the end product: they digest the contents in good faith, only to pay the price later when they find themselves raging incoherently in pubs, or – increasingly – on internet messageboards.

Tragically, widespread newspaper abuse has become so endemic, it has crippled the country's ability to conduct a sensible debate about the "war on drugs". The current screaming festival over "meow meow" or "M-Cat" or whatever else the actual users aren't calling it, is a textbook example. I have no idea how dangerous it is, but there seems to be a glaring lack of correlation between the threat it reportedly poses and the huge number of schoolkids reportedly taking it. Something doesn't add up. But in lieu of explanation, we're treated to an hysterical, obfuscating advertising campaign for a substance that will presumably – thanks to the furore – soon only be available via illegal, unregulated, more dangerous, means. If I was 15 years old, I wouldn't be typing this right now. I'd be trying to buy "plant food" on the internet. And this time next year I'd be buying it in a pub toilet, cut with worming pills and costing four times as much.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/22/charlie-brooker-newspapers-dangerous-drug

genius

 

[Primus]

I do love Charlie Brooker. It's a shame that in order to provide balance the Guardian also ran about 3 hysterical pieces as well.

 

[Primus]

That's not in this area. Here it is all about school kids "sexting".

Girls do seem to have a more relaxed attitude to posing for naked photos than when I was at school if the media is to be believed.
I mean we asked them but they were having none of it.

 

[commandlinegamer]

Trouble is the headlines I've seen have been along the lines of 'so-and-so died after taking mephedrone' which technically may be correct, but in no way establishes that as cause of death, just implies it as newspapers are wont to do. IIRC, there has been no official confirmation of cause of death in any of the 3/4 cases recently reported in the media, as toxicology results are still outstanding.

 

[andyandy]

Trouble is the headlines I've seen have been along the lines of 'so-and-so died after taking mephedrone' which technically may be correct, but in no way establishes that as cause of death, just implies it as newspapers are wont to do. IIRC, there has been no official confirmation of cause of death in any of the 3/4 cases recently reported in the media, as toxicology results are still outstanding.

Yes, they may as well be running:

"Teens die after putting on underpants" stories.

After all, I bet all the teens were wearing them before they died....

 

[zooterkin]

The media seem to be trying to whip up outrage, and are calling for the substance to be made an illegal drug without even establishing that it is causing any damage. I would have thought education was a better option, anyway. Why is it assumed that just because something is not illegal that it's a good idea to stick it up your nose?

 

[GenghisKhan]

Wow, I haven't even heard of this stuff!

It reminds me of all the anti-weed ads that were running here in the US a while back. I remember my favorite being the talking dog. Even with well-known drugs, the negative effects are blown out of proportion by the media.

 

[Information Analyst]

I've been doing some digging on the claimed fatalities for mephedrone, and despite is apparently being increasingly used by every kid and their dog since 2007/08, there are only been nine:

November 2009, Gabrielle Price (14) - took a number of substances at a house party, but post-mortem showed death was as a result of unrelated bronchopneumonia following a group A streptococcal infection. The UK press continue to claim her death was due to mephedrone.

7 February 2010, John Sterling Smith (46) - cardiac arrest, but police state that there have been arrests for posession/supplying Class A drugs in connection, which implies a number of substances were taken.

19 January 2010, Ben Walters (18) - again the police reported arrests for Class A drugs, also suggesting polydrug use. Lindsey Wilson (28) - was found still alive alongside the body of Ben Walters, but subsequently died in hospital on 7 February. Unconfirmed reports that "morphine tablets" were in cirulation at the party both attended.

March 2010, Lee Campbell (17) - suicide by hanging, mother blames mephedrone use.

15 March 2010, Louis Wainwright (18) and Nicholas Smith (19) - both had been drinking "all day," took mephedrone, and then took methadone (Class A).

21 March 2010 - Joslyne Marie Cockburn (18) - Bizarrely, the Daily Mail headlined this with, "Mother's warning as yet ANOTHER teenage girl dies of suspected meow meow overdose," despite the fact that the only teenage female death previously linked to mephedrone was Gabrielle Price, and hence erroneously so.

22 March 2010, Lois Waters (24) - had been taking mephedrone "freely" in the previous 48 hours, and may have used other substances. Her death was reported before that of Cockburn, and the Daily Mail suggested it was the sixth linked to the drug. It is unclear which three of the previously reported eight they were discounting.

 

[andyandy]

The BBC radio news are now reporting that it's "been linked with about 20 deaths"! Utterly dreadful journalism......

Being linked with =! having any causal effect

It would be interesting as a comparison to see in the last two weeks (about the length of time of the drug hysteria) how many people have:

1) Died as a result of alcohol related illnesses

2) Died as a result of accidents whilst drunk

3) Been arrested committing some act of violence whilst drunk

4) Spent a night in A&E after being involved in an accident or violence whilst drunk

5) Been raped after a rapist has exploited their vulnerability of being drunk

6) Been the victims of domestic violence after being assaulted by a drunken spouse or parent

7) Killed someone else after drink driving

8) Seriously injured someone whilst drink driving

9) Lost a job/relationship as a result of drink

10) Become pregnant after a drunken one night stand

11) Contracted a STI after a drunken one night stand


Christ, on a cost-benefit level, it's perfectly possible that we should be encouraging people to take mephadrone rather than alcohol

 

[andyandy]

In the news today:

The government's drug advisory council will make a recommendation to the home secretary on the status of the drug mephedrone, or "meow meow", at 4pm, despite the resignation of another key adviser.

The government's strained relationship with the scientific community came under further pressure with the resignation of Dr Polly Taylor, a consultant veterinary surgeon and long-standing member of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), in a backlash over the way independent experts are treated by ministers.

Taylor is the sixth expert to resign from the committee since the controversial sacking of the chairman, Professor David Nutt, last October. Several other council members are considering their positions, the Guardian has learned.

The latest departure follows the publication of guidelines that set out the terms of engagement between ministers and their expert advisers. The guidelines were drawn up by scientists, but later amended by ministers and published as formal "principles of scientific advice to government" last week.

The revised guidelines have outraged critics, who claim they compromise scientists' independence and could discourage experts from giving objective advice on sensitive matters if it clashes with existing government policy.

It had been thought that Taylor's resignation could hamper government plans for a swift ban on mephedrone.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/mar/29/drug-advisory-council-mephedrone-recommendation

Expect it to be class B by the end of the month....

 

[funk de fino]

The UK govts shambolic approach to recreational drugs is pathetic. The media feed it, stir it up and then sit back and watch the govt make evermore cocked up solutions to the problems.