Trend drug mephedrone at FC Bayern? “People are asking about it”

As the beat gets faster, the sky gets darker and the lights get more colorful, Timo Mehring (name changed) unpacks a small bag. Fine, slightly yellowish crystals glitter inside. The man from Nuremberg will now snort them – his first line of the evening. The substance will make him more alert, more sociable, more persistent. And it can put Mehring in danger.

New trend drug on the black market

The party drug mephedrone is becoming increasingly popular in the German techno scene. The substance belongs to the group of “bath salts” (synthetic cathinones). In the Netherlands, mephedrone has long been part of the dealer inventory, and in Berlin it is now also trendy. In Bavaria, experts are noticing the first signs that the substance, which is a class of amphetamine, is spreading.

The reason for its popularity among partygoers: Mephedrone is easy to produce and cheaper than other drugs with a similar effect. The side effects, however, are no less problematic – if only because there is a lack of precise studies. “Mephedrone has never been approved as a drug,” says Berlin drug counselor Tibor Harrach. “This means that the effects and side effects are no longer as well researched as those of cocaine or ecstasy.”

Traders sell fake material

Anyone who consumes large quantities over a long period of time is likely to be at risk of cardiovascular damage, delusions and addiction. At the same time, mephedrone is also a particularly tricky kind of grab bag. Consumers have been able to hand in samples of their drugs to Harrach in Berlin for a year. The advice center then checks what is in them. “The big surprise was the large number of cathinones that are dispensed here as mephedrone,” says Harrach. Anyone who has “ordered” mephedrone hardly knows what they are actually getting. Many of the other substances are even stronger and even more dangerous.

Nevertheless, mephedrone is being discussed in clubs in Bavaria. Timo Mehring is well connected in Nuremberg’s party scene. “People ask about it or talk about it. But they usually say that they were in Berlin and took it there,” says Mehring. He himself took mephedrone for the first time at a festival – or at least something that was sold to him as mephedrone. “It burned my nose pretty badly,” he says.

Mephedrone is becoming more widespread – also in Bavaria

According to the Federal Center for Health Education, mephedrone is probably manufactured in small backyard laboratories in Germany. Smuggled goods come from China or India.

A survey by the Munich prevention project “mindzone” found that numerous German experts surveyed noticed mephedrone in the party drug environment. Two Bavarian cities, which were not further specified, were also mentioned.

Senior physician looks with concern at developments

The substance has not yet been detected in drug checks in Nuremberg, the Central Franconia Police Headquarters reported in response to an inquiry. However, because Nuremberg is considered a drug hotspot, experts are concerned about trendy drugs such as mephedrone. One of them is Jan Welker, senior physician at the Nuremberg Clinic. He regularly sees “a consistently high number of people” in intensive care with drug overdoses. “And every substance that is added to the mix makes it worse, of course,” says Welker. “That’s why we’re a little nervous about every new substance.” But he hasn’t had a mephedrone patient yet.

Drug checking for prevention?

Since January 2010, mephedrone has been registered under the Narcotics Act and is considered “not marketable”. But that doesn’t stop partygoers from consuming it. “Drugs will always exist,” commented Timo Mehring. Tibor Harrach and Jan Welker are campaigning for more education. And for mechanisms to prevent drug poisoning.

Harrach is happy with the drug checking concept he is involved in in Berlin. The hope is that if consumers know what is in the drug, they can better estimate whether and, if so, how much of the drug they want to snort or swallow. “This reduces the risk,” says Harrach. Drug checking is also a good way of getting in touch with consumers.

There are no drug checking stations in Bavaria yet. However, senior physician Jan Welker is coordinating a research project to determine whether such a program could save lives in Franconia.