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| Guernsey could ban 'legal high' | Guernsey could ban 'legal high' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Authorities in the Channel Island of Guernsey have told BBC News they are considering classifying the synthetic stimulant mephedrone as a class A drug. | |
| Mephedrone, which has a similar effect to amphetamines, ecstasy or cocaine, reportedly has side effects including psychosis, weight loss and insomnia. | Mephedrone, which has a similar effect to amphetamines, ecstasy or cocaine, reportedly has side effects including psychosis, weight loss and insomnia. |
| It is legal in the UK and the Home Office is awaiting advice on whether to criminalise its possession and supply. | It is legal in the UK and the Home Office is awaiting advice on whether to criminalise its possession and supply. |
| But Guernsey officials say they must be "proactive" in acting before the UK. | But Guernsey officials say they must be "proactive" in acting before the UK. |
| Mephedrone, also known as "miaow" or "plant food", is one of a range of "legal highs" that have become popular among students and clubbers across the British Isles in the past two years. | Mephedrone, also known as "miaow" or "plant food", is one of a range of "legal highs" that have become popular among students and clubbers across the British Isles in the past two years. |
| But as well as health problems reported by some users, the white powder - which is snorted or injected - has also been unofficially linked to several deaths. | But as well as health problems reported by some users, the white powder - which is snorted or injected - has also been unofficially linked to several deaths. |
| Prison inmate use | Prison inmate use |
| Andrea Nightingale, Guernsey's drug and alcohol co-ordinator, said: "You look at the effects and they're likened to ecstasy and possibly cocaine - these are class A drugs. | Andrea Nightingale, Guernsey's drug and alcohol co-ordinator, said: "You look at the effects and they're likened to ecstasy and possibly cocaine - these are class A drugs. |
| "So presumably, if [mephedrone is] causing the same effect, it may be that [it's] put at that level." | "So presumably, if [mephedrone is] causing the same effect, it may be that [it's] put at that level." |
| The UK government has asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to recommend whether mephedrone should be made illegal in Britain. | The UK government has asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to recommend whether mephedrone should be made illegal in Britain. |
| The Channel Islands usually follow UK government drug policy, but in December Guernsey's Channel Island neighbour, Jersey, outlawed mephedrone, placing it in the lowest drug category - class C. | The Channel Islands usually follow UK government drug policy, but in December Guernsey's Channel Island neighbour, Jersey, outlawed mephedrone, placing it in the lowest drug category - class C. |
| I couldn't get myself out of bed and was very skinny - at death's door really Former mephedrone user Danni | I couldn't get myself out of bed and was very skinny - at death's door really Former mephedrone user Danni |
| Guernsey - which has never had a big drugs problem - banned the importation of mephedrone and other legal highs in 2009. | Guernsey - which has never had a big drugs problem - banned the importation of mephedrone and other legal highs in 2009. |
| Ms Nightingale said its authorities were now conducting their own research into the drug's effects. | Ms Nightingale said its authorities were now conducting their own research into the drug's effects. |
| "We need to be proactive as far as an island is concerned," she said. | "We need to be proactive as far as an island is concerned," she said. |
| "If the support isn't there from the UK at this time and it's going to be a lengthy process then possibly we have to feel we can't wait and that we go it alone." | "If the support isn't there from the UK at this time and it's going to be a lengthy process then possibly we have to feel we can't wait and that we go it alone." |
| Customs officials say the importation ban has stopped legal highs being sold openly in shops on the island and prevented some drugs getting through. | Customs officials say the importation ban has stopped legal highs being sold openly in shops on the island and prevented some drugs getting through. |
| But Billy Gilvear, the chaplain at Guernsey Prison, said there had been a rapid increase in mephedrone use among young offenders, with more than a third of inmates addicted to the drug. | But Billy Gilvear, the chaplain at Guernsey Prison, said there had been a rapid increase in mephedrone use among young offenders, with more than a third of inmates addicted to the drug. |
| He said offenders had suffered serious problems after injecting the drug: "They had lost a lot of weight, very gaunt-looking. Some of them had gouged faces, necks and arms but also mentally there was paranoia, they hadn't slept for some time. | He said offenders had suffered serious problems after injecting the drug: "They had lost a lot of weight, very gaunt-looking. Some of them had gouged faces, necks and arms but also mentally there was paranoia, they hadn't slept for some time. |
| "With lack of sleep, lack of eating, weight loss, they were in bad shape." | "With lack of sleep, lack of eating, weight loss, they were in bad shape." |
| 'Unknown quantity' | 'Unknown quantity' |
| One of the prisoners, an 18-year-old former heroin user called Danni, was jailed for theft and fraud offences, crimes she had committed to fund a £500-a-week mephedrone habit. | One of the prisoners, an 18-year-old former heroin user called Danni, was jailed for theft and fraud offences, crimes she had committed to fund a £500-a-week mephedrone habit. |
| "I couldn't get myself out of bed, I was very skinny," she said. | "I couldn't get myself out of bed, I was very skinny," she said. |
| FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME More from Today programme | FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME More from Today programme |
| "I was having to detox off of all sorts of different drugs. I wasn't really getting the right help to detox off them, I was left to myself basically to do it. I was at death's door really." | "I was having to detox off of all sorts of different drugs. I wasn't really getting the right help to detox off them, I was left to myself basically to do it. I was at death's door really." |
| Drug agency workers said mephedrone was an "unknown quantity" and that little was known about the most effective forms of treatment. | Drug agency workers said mephedrone was an "unknown quantity" and that little was known about the most effective forms of treatment. |
| Tracey Rear, manager of Drug Concern, in Guernsey, said: "There has been no long-term research on it. We don't know what the long-term effects are. | Tracey Rear, manager of Drug Concern, in Guernsey, said: "There has been no long-term research on it. We don't know what the long-term effects are. |
| "We're getting clients coming in who can be quite chaotic, their lives have taken quite a dip, so it presents a real risk because we don't know what we're dealing with." | "We're getting clients coming in who can be quite chaotic, their lives have taken quite a dip, so it presents a real risk because we don't know what we're dealing with." |