| RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Police say an NC State student and another man
found dead on a fire escape last weekend likely died after
overdosing on a plant food commonly known on the street as 'Meow-Meow.'
Raleigh Police spokesperson Jim Sughrue said autopsy results weren't
back yet, but the investigation so far points to an overdose of
Mephedrone.
It's an amphetamine, which is closely related to an African shrub
that people chew for a pick-me-up.
Popular among ravers, Mephedrone's effects are similar to cocaine,
meth and ecstasy with symptoms ranging from euphoria and heavy
hallucination to more toxic effects.
Officials strongly caution against the inappropriate use of
Mephedrone and any other substance which may be harmful to people
taking it. (But nobody listens.)
Additional information about the substance may be found at:
http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drugs_concern/mephedrone.htm.
Doug Ausbon says he believes the young men may have been lulled
into a false sense of security using a substance that is not
illegal, available online and marketed as plant food or bath salts.
"It's a new thing, what we're understanding it's legal," he said.
"You can get it over the internet and you think it's okay, but it's
not. It has, obviously, some pretty permanent consequences."
"I'm sure it was a false sense of security & that it is was okay
otherwise," Sherri Ausbon said.
* * * * *
Yeah, that probably explains it. But these two kids probably were
not destined to have a long life anyway. There are perfectly legal
substances at your neighborhood grocery store that are marketed for
cleaning your home and your clothing. If you ingest them into your
body you or your survivors will wish you had not done so.
(But nobody listens.)
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