DRUG users are beating the ban on meow meow by taking a potentially lethal epilepsy pill.
Phenazepam, widely available on the internet, mimics the effects of the former “legal high”.
But Britain’s leading toxicologists issued an urgent warning yesterday after it was linked to a string of overdose cases.
Phenazepam was found in the blood of nine people who died in Scotland, although seven of them had also taken opiates.
British teenagers turned to the drug after meow meow, also called M-Cat or mephedrone, was outlawed last year. There have also been reports from the US, Sweden and Finland.
Phenazepam is used to dampen symptoms of epilepsy and anxiety. It is not licensed for medical use in Britain and is only prescribed in Russia and former Soviet bloc countries.
But it can be legally obtained here online under the name Bonsai Supersleep – a mixture of phenazepam and other drugs also used as a substitute for tranquillisers like valium.
Dr Peter Maskell, of the University of Dundee, warned in the British Medical Journal: “Phenazepam use in the UK is on the rise. It can be obtained legally on the internet and is being used as a replacement for other drugs.
“Doctors should be aware of both the availability and use of phenazepam in the UK.”
This article is from the UK but the drug is available on the internet and it is scary what is happening. PLEASE be aware.
Phenazepam is a benzodiazepine drug, which was developed in the Soviet Union and now produced in Russia and some CIS countries. Phenazepam is used in the treatment of neurological disorders such as epilepsy, alcohol withdrawal syndrome and insomnia
