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Citation |
Schifano F, Corkery JM, Ghodse AH. J. Clin. Psychopharmacol. 2012; 32(5): 710-714. |
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Affiliation |
From the *School of Pharmacy, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield; †Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Hertfordshire; and ‡International Centre for Drug Policy, St George's University of London, London, UK. |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 2012, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins) |
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DOI |
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PMID |
22926609 |
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Abstract |
BACKGROUND: International media have been reporting about fatalities allegedly related to mephedrone, a popular recreational stimulant, but now a proportion of them have been confirmed. We aimed here at analyzing information relating to the circumstances of mephedrone-related deaths in the United Kingdom. METHODS: Descriptive analysis of information was mainly extracted from the UK National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths database. With an average annual response rate of 95%, UK National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths receives information from coroners on drug-related deaths among both addicts and nonaddicts in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man. RESULTS: So far, 128 alleged mephedrone-associated fatalities have been reported; mephedrone was identified at postmortem in 90 cases; inquests have been concluded in 69 cases, 62 of which are analyzed here. Typical mephedrone victims were young (mean age, 28.8 years), male, and with a previous history of drug misuse. There was a notable number (18 cases [29%], 11 being from hanging) of deaths involving self-harm. Mephedrone alone was identified at postmortem on 8 occasions (13% of the inquests' sample). CONCLUSIONS: Present mortality data may suggest a significant level of caution when ingesting mephedrone. Limitations include an inability to determine the exact extent of risks associated with mephedrone consumption. Language: en |