Dr Gerry McCarney, a psychiatrist with the Drug Treatment Centre Board, said they recently treated one person who said they had used it. Another 20 said they had used 'party pills', which Dr McCarney said were a mix of substances and could contain 4-Methylmethcathinone.
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The drug is sometimes called Blue Light and can be bought over the internet for less than E20 for one gram, enough for five doses. Dr McCarney said he was aware of warnings that 4-MMC was 'the next big thing'. The drug's active ingredient is cathinone and its effects are like a mixture of ecstasy and cocaine, causing euphoria and making people talkative. Dr McCarney said little was known about its toxicity and more research was needed into the dangers associated with it.
The annual meeting of the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Faculty of Addictions in Edinburgh heard last week that the drug should be reclassified by the British government as an illegal substance. Psychiatrists Dr Neeraj Bajaj, Dr Donna Mullen and Dr Scot Wylie from Stobhill Hospital in Glasgow carried out research on its effects. They found users suffered auditory and visual hallucinations, as well as signs of mania.
The drug has also reportedly been linked to several deaths among teenagers and is illegal in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Israel.
Source: Niamh Mullen, The Irish Medical Times, 08/05/2009
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