China
Africa
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
Nutrition in Chemsex
Published in Phillip Joy, Megan Aston, Queering Nutrition and Dietetics, 2023
The drugs increase sexual desire and stamina, resulting in sessions which can last for extended periods (Bourne et al., 2014), with some parties going on for several days (Macfarlane, 2016). The drugs are often taken in combination to maximize the desirable effects and to modify the onset and duration of the “high;” mephedrone users begin to feel subjective effects after about 15 minutes from administration, peaking at around 45 minutes (Papaseit et al., 2016). Crystal methamphetamine may have a slower onset time, depending on route of administration, but its half-life is around 11 hours (Kish, 2008).
Novel psychoactive substances and inhalants
Published in Ilana B. Crome, Richard Williams, Roger Bloor, Xenofon Sgouros, Substance Misuse and Young People, 2019
There have been reports of some serious reactions following mephedrone use, including extreme agitation, aggression, panic, dehydration, confusion, overheating, seizures, cardiovascular dysregulation and paranoid episodes (Dargan et al., 2010). Withdrawal effects following mephedrone use have been reported, including tiredness, insomnia, nasal congestion and impaired concentration.
Stimulants and mental health
Published in David B Cooper, Practice in Mental Health—Substance Use, 2018
Richard Orr McLeod, Philip D Cooper
Mephedrone is probably the most well-known ‘legal high’ after receiving a high level of media interest in 2009/2010. Mephedrone, often referred to as ‘Meow Meow’, is usually sold in powder form and swallowed either in capsules or wrapped in a cigarette paper. Mephedrone belongs to a group of substances known as cathinones. Cathinone can be extracted from the leaves of khat, although the majority of cathinones seized and tested are synthetic.3 They are similar to amphetamine and thought to act on the neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin and noradrenalin. Other cathinones are: ephedrone, which has a similar effect to methylamphetamine3,4-Methylene-dioxymethcathinone (methylone), which has a similar effect to MDMA (3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine)bupropion, which is most commonly used as a smoking cessation aid.3
Effectiveness of the methadone programme in the treatment of patients on a mephedrone binge and dependent on heroin: a retrospective study, 2010–19
Published in International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, 2020
Michal Ordak, Tadeusz Nasierowski, Karolina Pawlik, Elzbieta Muszynska, Magdalena Bujalska-Zadrozny
In recent years, there has been a sharp increase in the frequency of patients hospitalised due to taking new psychoactive substances, the so-called ‘legal highs’, including mephedrone (Hockenhull et al., 2016; Lavelle, 2016; Neicun et al., 2019). Almost 99.5% of patients taking mephedrone on a regular basis (two days or more) combine it with other psychoactive substances (Ordak et al., 2018). This often creates the need for polypharmacotherapy, which increases the likelihood of drug-drug and drug-disease interactions. It is also a factor that increases the risk of re-hospitalisation in the same group of people (Ordak et al., 2019; Tiihonen et al., 2019). The literature does not provide data on the effectiveness of the methadone programme for the treatment of patients taking mephedrone with heroin. The data to date relate to opiate addiction alone. There is also no information on the correlation of the dose of methadone taken with the frequency of hospitalisation of patients receiving particular psychoactive substances. Therefore, the purpose of our research was to optimise the effectiveness of the methadone programme in a group of patients who were hospitalised due to taking mephedrone with heroin between 2010 and 2019. This is the first research of this kind.
Optimisation of methadone treatment in a group of patients on a mephedrone binge and dependent on many psychoactive substances
Published in International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, 2020
Michal Ordak, Tadeusz Nasierowski, Elzbieta Muszynska, Magdalena Bujalska-Zadrozny
In recent years, a rapid increase in the frequency of hospitalisations of patients taking various types of legal highs, including mephedrone, has been observed. Consequently, various countries spend more on the therapy of people addicted to new psychoactive substances (Hockenhull et al., 2016; Ordak et al., 2018; Tracy, Wood, & Baumeister, 2017). The strong addictive potential of mephedrone results in several hospitalisations of people taking this substance (Ordak et al., 2019). Taking methadone with other drugs may also be a factor conducive to subsequent hospitalisations. This is because over 99% of people on a mephedrone binge combine it with other psychoactive substances. The aim of harm reduction programmes should be, inter alia, to minimise health costs for those people taking mephedrone. We have, therefore, analysed which of the methadone interactions is conducive to subsequent hospitalisations of patients taking mephedrone and which of them has the greatest therapeutic effect. This is the first study of this type that has been carried out so far.
Synthetic cathinones: an evolving class of new psychoactive substances
Published in Critical Reviews in Toxicology, 2019
João L. Gonçalves, Vera L. Alves, Joselin Aguiar, Helena M. Teixeira, José S. Câmara
A research project led by the National Addiction Center in London at the end of 2009, with more than 2000 readers of the dance magazine “Mixmag” disclosed that 41.7% of surveyed people had tried mephedrone, 33.2% during the last month, making it the sixth most popular drug, after tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, ecstasy, and cocaine (Schifano et al. 2011; Winstock et al. 2011). Also in the UK, a self-report questionnaire conducted in high schools, colleges, and universities in Tayside (Scotland) revealed that 20.3% of the students had used mephedrone at least once, 4.4% reported daily use, and 17.6% had already experienced addiction or dependence symptoms (Dargan et al. 2010). Given the growing concern about mephedrone safety, the UK government banned this substance and other cathinone derivatives, on April 2010, under the UK Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Morris 2010).