Monday 19 April 2010

A Triumph Of Free Markets

From a surprisingly detailed article in this morning's Metro:

Mephedrone replaced by NRG-1, Sparkle and MDAI after reclassification

A host of new legal highs are already competing to replace mephedrone as the next big party drug – with some being sold for a pittance. At least three new options are being rushed to market by online pushers who have little awareness of their dangers.

It follows the classification of mephed­rone, also called meow meow, as a Class B drug at the weekend after being linked to 26 deaths. Since it was made illegal, mephedrone has gone from £15 to £35 a gramme.

Drug MDAI costs £25 a gramme and is thought to be the most likely replacement. It was developed as an anti-dep­ressant in the 1990s and replicates many of the effects of MDMA, or ecstasy...


Well worth reading in full.

7 comments:

Antisthenes said...

Well this is just another reason for legalising the the supply and consumption of drugs albeit under strict control and well regulated.

formertory said...

"Linked to 26 deaths" is "fun with numbers" territory.

DaveP said...

Drug supply and consumption should be legalised. The trouble is the illegal drug industry is too corrupting, and a lot of officialdom has been corruptly enriched. Why turn off the money tap?

Tim Almond said...

Something interesting in a piece linked by Devil's Kitchen was that a comment by a drug user saying that illegality was the measure of whether he chose a drug or not as if it was legal, it probably didn't work.

It's like the users seal of approval.

Chuckles said...

Thats the OODA loop shot to hell then.

Mark Wadsworth said...

A, FT, DP, JT, my thoughts exactly.

C, they do follow the OODA rules very closely:
They Observe that the tabloids are calling for a ban.
They Orient themselves accordingly.
They Decide to ban it.
They Act.

Anonymous said...

do the authorities never even stop to consider who benefits from such a ban? the street price of meow meow is rising...guess it is is the supplkiers who are benefiting...