Pubdate: Sun, 18 Apr 2010 Source: Herald, The (Glasgow, UK) Copyright: 2010 Herald & Times Group Contact: http://www.heraldscotland.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4784 Author: Rebecca Gray Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/Topic/Mephedrone REVEALED: SCOTLAND'S DEALERS LOOK TO CHINA TO SUPPLY A NEW GENERATION OF LEGAL HIGHS The former head of the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency says the country's teenagers are now 'guinea pigs' for the Chinese drug labs manufacturing the next generation of so-called 'legal highs' after the banning of mephedrone on Friday. Graeme Pearson, former director of the SDEA, says the Far Eastern gangs which manufactured mephedrone for consumption in the west are simply switching to the production of new drugs following the ban, with the intention of supplying the untested substances to those dealing in legal highs throughout the UK and Scotland. Now head of Britain's first academic institute monitoring crime -- the Unit for the Study of Serious Organised Crime at the University of Glasgow's Centre for Drug Misuse -- Pearson told the Sunday Herald: "Obviously the use of mephedrone is very dangerous, especially for young people, and it also proves problematic as we don't fully understand the substance's long-term effects. "The ban is the only logical outcome, but there is no doubt, people in these labs in China will already be manufacturing the next generation of non-illegal substances." On the street, mephedrone is known as Mcat, Moonshine and Bubbles, and was widely sold as plant food over the counter in stores and on the internet prior to its ban. Last month it claimed the life of Jordan Kiltie, 19, from Ayrshire, whose mother Angie Kiltie went on to call for the drug to be banned. Legislation placing the drug and other related compounds in the Class B category alongside cannabis was rushed through Parliament after panic about the drug gripped the country in recent months. The Government's drugs advisers -- the Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) -- found evidence the substance was "likely to be harmful". Possession now carries a maximum sentence of five years' imprisonment, while dealers can receive up to 14 years. However, the senior police chiefs have said that they have "no intention" of "criminalising" young people caught with mephedrone. Instead, officers insist they will focus on suppliers. Ahead of the ban, a number of internet sites selling the so-called legal high were closed down. Mr Pearson continued: "We have reached a time, where teenagers in the Western world have become guinea pigs for other people's financial gains -- it's madness. These people will have already changed the chemical formula of mephedrone, making a new legal drug - -- so that our young people can continue to stick plant food up their nose." He went on: "The way mephedrone was sold, in shops and online, gave people the impression that it was safe. Soon, young people were finding themselves in difficulty. Although there is a more long term problem, it is difficult to see what other action the Government could take on mephedrone." Professor Neil McKeganey, from the Centre for Drug Misuse Research, believes we are witnessing a revolution in the drug trade. "New highs come along very quickly, so it is difficult to apply such rules. We only become aware of new highs once they are a threat and then we can prevent them. In some cases, by the time the new high is discovered, young people and teenagers have been involved in it for years." Drug experts have also expressed concerns about organised crime gangs becoming involved in the selling of mephedrone now it is illegal. Mr Pearson said there was "no doubt" that criminals would move into the distribution and supply of these former legal drugs with a "financial bonus attached". "We will now see proft-led criminal elements in the sale of mephedrone", he added. Last month, the Government's former top drugs adviser warned banning mephedrone could do more harm than good. ‘I'm in touch with Chinese suppliers who can offer me a similar product' Despite the banning of mephedrone, the Sunday Herald has uncovered an entire new generation of chemical highs on sale in Scotland sold by dealers working directly with Chinese gangs to flood the UK with "designer drugs". Although the media has focused on mephedrone in recent months, due to the drug being linked to a number of deaths, dealers in "legal highs" have many more designer chemicals in stock. They are also working with Chinese gangs to import new compounds which do not fall foul of the updated UK drug legislation. The new highs include substances such as MDPV, methylone and butylone. All of them mimic the effects of other, better-known drugs, such as cocaine and ecstasy. The new legal highs were made freely available to The Sunday Herald, with no legal consequences, from four websites selling drugs similar to mephedrone. To avoid prosecution most dealers describe the designer drugs as "plant food" or label them "not for human consumption". Prior to its ban, mephedrone was sold and packaged in a similar way, to keep the drug on the right side of the law. The Sunday Herald also rang one online supplier who claimed to be liaising with "leading research chemists" in China to develop replacement substances. Previously, he had sold mephedrone. The Glasgow-based supplier, who would only give his name as Keith, said: "When I first set up the website selling mephedrone, I wanted it to be completely legitimately. No dodgy cash deals, pay my income tax, while giving excellent service with a quality product at the right price. "In the first weeks, I bought my stock inside Britain, but I then began buying direct from a manufacturer in China, as it was cheaper. My business was running smoothly, with a turnover of about #5,000 a week. Then mephedrone hit the headlines. Its use was blamed for the death of teenagers and then everything changed." He continued: "On Friday, mephedrone was banned and I closed down the website. Now, the taxman will lose hundreds of thousands of pounds and the criminals will step in. Now the millions who are stopped from getting mephedrone legally will either buy illegally or try something new. "No government, Labour or Tory, would have had the courage to exercise the level of common sense needed to keep it legal. Now, like hundreds of other businessmen who sold mephedrone, I will find another legal high to sell on a new website and I'm already in touch with Chinese suppliers who can offer me a similar product. "Am I comfortable with the concept of selling legal highs? No. "But I don't want to lose mine and my children's home. So the decision has been made." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom