Saturday, May 29, 2010

I Told You So

Actually looking through my archive it appears I didn't actually say that I thought the hysteria over "Meow Meow" would probably turn out to be completely unfounded.

Anyway it turns out that the teenagers whose deaths were attributed to the drug didn't actually take it:

Two teenagers whose deaths were linked to meow meow had not taken the drug, it was revealed yesterday.

The deaths of Louis Wainwright, 18, and Nicholas Smith, 19, sparked fears about then legal synthetic stimulant mephedrone.

The rebuttal will get less attention than the initial allegations.

It turns out that the sudden deaths of heavy drinking teenagers with symptoms consistent with the effects of excess alcohol consumption was due to the alcohol they had consumed. In that sense the coverage of MCAT resembles the coverage of date rape drugs- when spiked drinks are blamed for effects that were pretty consistent with unspiked drinks.

Former government drug advisor David Nutt notes the role of the police in hyping up the dangers of legal highs in this case.

5 comments:

asquith said...

This is just like that myth about England shirts being banned, it isn't going to die just because it isn't true. It is convenient, fits well into a narrative, & people want to believe it. Whether it happened is of no interest to anyone. Except me, but since when hs that mattered?

asquith said...

Not that Camoron will leglise it again or anything. What pisses me off is that he must know the war on drugs isn't working, but he refuses to lift a finger in the direction of acting on it.

It's all pissing me off now. I got asked for ID in one of the shittest pubs in Stoke. That's a place where people go when they're on the run from the fucking law, the last thing we want is some jobsworth cunt in there.

Drunkenly, I actually said to him "You do fucking know we haven't got a Labour government any more, don't you?" But apparently it makes no difference.

Do you read Mark Reckons? He is good at all this.

JuliaM said...

"Drunkenly, I actually said to him "You do fucking know we haven't got a Labour government any more, don't you?" But apparently it makes no difference."

Of course it doesn't. It was never the government that was the problem.

Oh, they drove it, and some people complied out of fear for the consequences.

But far more did it because they enjoyed the feeling of power over others.

asquith said...

Yes, this barman was a bit like that. Also, he had a supervisor & the person who owned the venue etc. etc. leaning on him. I was just outraged at this particular pub not serving me. It felt as though there's no refuge anywhere on the face of the earth!

Though I did go on to get served in 2 other places, rightly so as I'm a perfectly legal, legitimate & harmless drinker.

Was there ever a case of some substance which, upon being banned, was later legalised? You'd have thought mephedrone & magic mushrooms would be up there. I have surprised myself with how supportive of the new administration I am but Camoron does not act on the liberal/libertarian instincts o the issue which I believe he actually has.

Ross said...

Asquith- I suppose the bottom line for most members of the government is that it simply isn't worth expending political capital on.