The six deaths at the recent Future Music Festival Asia (FMFA) 2014 concert in Bukit Jalil could have been due to the consumption of a new, and still legal, party drug.
Dr Mahmud Mazlan, who runs 10 clinics specialising in drug abuse treatment, says the deaths might have been caused by mephedrone, a new party drug recently gaining popularity in the West, and which caught on in Jakarta’s social circles last year.
Dr Mahmud also said his patients had confirmed to him the drug, reportedly responsible for several deaths in the West, has already reached Malaysian shores and is being freely marketed online.
A quick Google search returned several results for websites peddling mephedrone for shipment to or within Malaysia.
Mephedrone and eramin-5 are also believed to have overtaken ecstacy in popularity at rave parties, as the two drugs have a stronger effect.
“More than a dozen countries have banned this party drug because of the fatalities it caused. What happened at the festival appeared to be similar to mephedrone-related deaths reported in the West,” he said.
Mephedrone is still legal in Malaysia because it has not been gazetted under the Dangerous Drugs Act despite the number of fatalities reported overseas.
“Urine and blood tests currently used by authorities are not able to detect mephedrone precursors. So, authorities tend to mistake it for methamphetamine.
“Mephedrone and other designer drugs can also go undetected in urine tests if they are taken with synthetic cannabis,” said Dr Mahmud.
Street names for mephedrone include MMCAT, Meow Meow, 4MMC, plant food, drone and meph while the websites selling it in Kuala Lumpur call it Bath Salt or Fertiliser.
It gives cocaine-like effects, including a euphoric, “loved up” feeling, highly energised sensation and moderately increased sex drive.
Easier and cheaper to make than methamphetamine, it can come in the form of a capsule or powder to be taken orally or snorted. As of last year, it was being sold at about RM75 for 20gm.
Story: The Star Online
