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Legal party drug mephedrone - Source: ONE News -
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Calls are growing for the government to ban the "legal high" clubbers' drug mephedrone following the deaths of two teenagers this week.
Louis Wainwright, 18, and Nicholas Smith, 19, were found dead in their homes on Tuesday after a night out in Scunthorpe during which they had taken the drug.
Post-mortem examinations are being carried out on the two
friends, whose bodies were found hours apart.
Three men and a 17-year-old boy have been arrested in connection
with the deaths.
Police warned clubbers that taking the drug - often called M-Cat or
Meow - was potentially lethal, especially when combined with
alcohol or other drugs.
"Just because this drug is considered legal, it does not mean it's safe to consume," said Detective Chief Inspector Mark Oliver from South Yorkshire Police.
"People who take M-Cat with other substances increase the dangers of coming to harm," he added.
Quantities of the party drug have been intercepted by New Zealand Customs officials, with local police fearing a strong version of mephedrone is in use as a substitute for ecstasy.
NZ customs officials have confiscated at least 15 packets of the drug - 13 of them from Britain - in the past four months.
Earlier this month, British Home Secretary Alan Johnson signalled that some legal highs, including mephedrone, could be banned.
A spokesman for the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) said it will offer advice to Johnson by the end of the month.
"The ACMD held an evidence-gathering meeting on 22 February and continue to carefully work on our considerations with a view to providing advice to ministers on 29 March," he said.
Home Office minister Alan Campbell said the subject of mephedrone use was a priority for the government.
"We are determined to act swiftly but it is important we consider independent expert advice to stop organised criminals exploiting loopholes by simply switching to a different but similar compound," he said.
The Conservatives have backed calls by the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) for a ban.
"There seems to be a pandemic of this drug and we've got to look into what needs to be done urgently," said NAHT General Secretary Mick Brookes.
