Gone in a sniff
9th February 2011
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In April last year, the then Home Secretary Alan Johnson announced that mephedrone, along with other similar products was to become a controlled substance under the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act. The decision came in the wake of several deaths which were given a high profile by the media and were linked to the use of the drug, albeit with dubious evidence to support such a claim. Almost as soon as it was announced that mephedrone and related substances were to be banned came other announcements that replacement chemicals, ones that would not be covered by the Misuse of Drugs Act were being readied in preparation to fill the ensuing void.
The possibility of similar replacement chemicals being manufactured originates due to the fact that the Misuse of Drugs Act outlawed a batch of chemicals known as synthetic cathinones. Cathinone is the active chemical in mephedrone and many of the other substances banned. However it was argued that minor molecular tweaks to these already existing chemicals would spawn new chemicals. These new chemicals would have similar effects and would have the dual added bonus of legality and therefore also availability.
One of the earliest chemicals marketed as a replacement was a chemical known as naphyrone which was commonly known as NRG-1, and which has since been outlawed. Similar to a substance known as MDPV which was banned at the same time as mephedrone, naphyrone acts as a stimulant upon of the central nervous system of the user. The potency of naphyrone contributes to the danger this drug possessed and helps explain the lack of popularity among users. In particular, reports of prolonged anxiety and panic attacks were common in online forums.

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