Deaths spark 'legal high' ban call

Mar 17 2010

There is mounting pressure for the "legal high" drug mephedrone to be banned after it was linked to the deaths of two teenagers.

Police said they believed the drug - which has become popular in the club scene - contributed to the deaths of Louis Wainwright, 18, and Nicholas Smith, 19. They died on Monday after a night out in Scunthorpe.

After police urged anyone who had taken the drug to go to hospital, teaching leaders said mephedrone was as dangerous as Class A drugs like heroin and cocaine and the Government should seriously consider a ban.

Mick Brooks, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, told the BBC: "This drug clearly has the same inherent dangers as any Class A drug and I think serious consideration should be given to banning it.

"The problem with that is that you then criminalise the people who take it, so we need to think very carefully about what we do, but act with some speed."

Three people are being quizzed by police over the deaths of the two teenagers, who died within hours of each other.

Nicholas's father, retied firefighter Tony, urged youngsters to avoid the drug, which is known by various names, including "M-CAT", "MC", and "meow".

He told The Sun: "We don't know much about what happened but we think he's been taking this drug on a night out. I don't want him to be labelled a druggie because he wasn't. He was just on a night out with friends, a normal, caring, hard-working lad.

"I don't want any other family to go through this or any other kids to die because of this."

A 26-year-old man, a 20-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy were arrested in connection with the deaths. One of the arrested men was taken to hospital after being thought to have taken the drug. He was released into custody with no symptoms, police said.