Tall tales: meow meow

The University of Lancaster questioned 308 people in South London clubs last year, of whom 154 were planning on taking illegal drugs that night. Twenty-seven per cent of them were intending to use 'meow meow', as the drug is sometimes known. The effects of 'meph' are similar to amphetamines: users feel alert, happy and full of energy for around three hours.

Originally marketed as a plant food, the drug was made illegal in April 2010 after a series of deaths allegedly linked to the white powder. But, surprisingly, this hasn't affected its popularity; having been openly available for so long, many people still seem to consider the drug a 'safe' option. 'It makes me want to dance and talk to everyone. It doesn't bother me that it's illegal. Plus it's cheaper and more widely available than alternatives like MDMA,' says one 23-year-old dabbler.

As a stimulant, it's an obvious party drug, but away from the banging baselines and climactic 'drops' mephedrone is also making appearances at dinner parties, sometimes being passed like petits fours with coffee to keep conversation buzzing into the small hours. 'It's because it makes you feel like you're the most interesting person in the world; it's a subtle change but it makes life more exciting,' adds another 24-year-old fan.

But not everyone's keen. 'From an outsider's perspective it's really boring, it makes people overly intense, and their breath smells really unpleasantly chemically,' says a non-user. The drug is also known for its terrible comedowns, our 24-year-old meow man says he once spent 'hours and hours lying in bed with my heart pounding out of my chest, just watching the clock tick round and round, totally unable to sleep and feeling shaky and nauseous. It was horrible.' Another erstwhile user admits to being violently sick for 24 hours. Who knows what other pharmaceutical trends the next decade will throw up, but perhaps it would be wise to feed the flowers, rather than your nose, with this one. LHJ