Fears M-Cat drug will kill kids in city
CHILDREN as young as 13 are taking the deadly drug M-Cat in Wakefield – according to concerned youth workers who say it's only a matter of time before someone dies.
The shocking revelation was made in the week the legal drug mephedrone hit headlines after the death of two Scunthorpe teenagers, which led to calls by Wakefield MP Mary Creagh for Home Secretary Alan Johnson to take urgent action to stop it being sold in the city.
Tam Tiffany is a youth worker with YMCA Chantry. She said: “It is rife in Wakefield. The kids are mixing it with ketamine and speed to make a lethal cocktail and it won’t be long before there is a death here.
“We advise them against it, but the argument they come back with is that it isn’t illegal.”
And police have backed her claims, saying they were concerned at the ‘alarming rate’ at which it was becoming available in Wakefield.
Yesterday Wakefield Girls’ High School confirmed a year 11 pupil had been permanently excluded after a substance believed to be the drug, was found on her at school.
Headteacher Gillian Wallwork, said: “Wakefield Girls’ High School takes a strong stand regarding drug-related activities. Immediate action was taken and the pupil has been permanently excluded.”
The discovery came in the same week that police were giving talks at the Wentworth Terrace school about the dangers of the drug, which is also known as miaow-miaow or Meph.
Local neighbourhood police teams have written to parents, via schools, urging them to make their children aware of the drug’s dangers.
A horrified Wakefield Girls’ High School parent, who did not wish to be named, said: “The consensus among pupils seems to be that it’s ok because it’s legal and that is very scary”
Under current laws M-Cat or mephedrone is legal to buy and can be sold as ‘plant food’ or a ‘research chemical’, as long as the seller states it is not for human consumption.
A gram can be bought on the street and over the internet for as little as 10-15.
West Yorkshire Police’s drugs co-ordinator, Bryan Dent, said: “Just because it is legal does not make it safe, in fact it is very unsafe especially when taken with alcohol.”
He said its legal status does make it difficult to police, but warned that anyone found carrying it would be arrested on suspicion of possession of a class A drug and locked up.
On Monday Scunthorpe teenagers Nick Smith, 19, a chef, and Louis Wainwright, 18, an apprentice welder, died after taking the drug and others on a night out.
Mick Taylor, who runs Protex and supplies security to Wakefield’s bars and clubs, agrees with the police that it’s a growing problem.
He said: “We have caught a few people with it, and my staff have noticed an increase. If we catch anyone with a white powder we hand them straight over to the police and they will spend a night in the cells.”
Anyone with any information about drug dealing should contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111 and callers could receive a cash reward.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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