Sweden - Teenager dies of mephedrone overdose

[chillinwill]

An 18-year-old girl has died in Stockholm after overdosing on mephedrone, a drug that until now has been freely available for purchase on the internet.

After the girl's death at Karolinska University Hospital on Sunday afternoon, Swedish authorities took immediate steps to ban the drug, with the handling of mephedrone classified as a criminal offence as of Monday, December 15th.

The 18-year-old and some friends took the substance in combination with cannabis on Friday night. An ambulance was soon called to Bandhagen in south Stockholm after the girl went into convulsions and turned blue in the face, Svenska Dagbladet reports.

The dangerous stimulant can attack vital organs and is often likened to a cross between cocaine and ecstasy. As it smells of seafood, the substance is referred to by users in Sweden as 'krabba' (crab).

Published: 15 Dec 08 17:32 CET
http://www.thelocal.se/16366/20081215/

Reputation Comments on this post:

Great, but tragic, find

[KomodoMK]

I think we all know where this is going to lead ultimately... it was only a matter of time.

[RaverHippie]

I estimate there will be a spike in sales happening about now for those stockpiling for the impending drought.

[fnord]

Is mephredrone particularly dangerous when used normally? Or is this a case of morons having access to powerful chems?

Sad to see a psychonout loose her life.

[Abrad]

I would wonder how much she took. SWIM has witnessed people taking very large doses with no obvious ill effects. Don't think that he is suggesting this chemical is innocuous, just wondering if this was a direct result of the mephedrone or some pre-existing condition.

[Alfa]

mephedrone death
mephedrone overdose

[Triple7]

http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.j...64158&rss=2216
published 2008-12-15 12:12 by Fredrik Öjemar

translation

Woman died from netdrug.

Karlolinska University Hospital reports to dn.se that the woman who has taken into intensive care last Saturday after taking the legal net-drug mephedrone died on saturday morning.

IT WAS during the night to Saturday the 18-year-old woman and few of her friends at Bandhagen in Ssouthern Stockholm took the drug together with hashish. She had cramp and suddenly stopped breathing.

The friends tried to desperately save her and started CPR. When the ambulace came, she couldn't breathe by herself.

Yesterday, the woman died at Karloinska University Hospital despite intensive attempts to save her life.

- This is extremely tradgic, says Tommy Kalenius, police inspector at Söderortspolisen to dn.se.

According to the website drugnews.nu - a cooperation between IOGT-NTO, Riksförbundet Narkotikafritt Samhälle (RNS) och Frilansgruppen Rasp - mephedrone is a new drug that usually is take nasal or oral and is spreading among the young in Sweden.

Today, Monday, this lobster smelling drug, wish is also called lobster, forbidden to possees. But Tommy Kalenius doesn't belive it will disappear for that.

- Usually they change a chemical designation so that it becomes legal even if it is a type of the same drug, he says.

DN.SE HAS BEFORE REPORTED about the strong increase in sales of drugs on the net. The police is usuallt a step behind, since many netdrugs are legal and take time to drug class. Tommy Kalenius describes it as mission impossible.

- Unfortunately there isn't much we can do, more than to wait that the drug becomes illegal, he says.

Just this year many youth died around in Sweden when they took drugs they ordered on the internet. Last summer a group of youth outside Åkersberga norr of Stockholm an uprising against netdrugs when their 17-year-old friend died after he had used the lethal substance DXM.

Reputation Comments on this post:

Thanks for providing this

[Evil GIR]

Why do people just take anything they get there hands on ?
I know swim has taken research chemicals before but at least there was some data on them.
Stuff like this is that new know one know`s shit about them and reading about the few trip reports
or experiences it looks like an RC that should be avoided. People should research everything they put into their bodies.
Even if the ambulance got to this girl early, i doubt there is anything they could do except put her on life support
and hope shes able to ride the drug out without dying.

[KomodoMK]

Originally Posted by Evil GIR

Why do people just take anything they get there hands on ?
I know swim has taken research chemicals before but at least there was some data on them.
Stuff like this is that new know one know`s shit about them and reading about the few trip reports
or experiences it looks like an RC that should be avoided. People should research everything they put into their bodies.
Even if the ambulance got to this girl early, i doubt there is anything they could do except put her on life support
and hope shes able to ride the drug out without dying.

There is enough data on this chemical to dose it safely and many users pets on this forum have done so successfully, including my little fishy. The problem comes when people order from the online vendors who have not taken the time to educate themselves in the slightest and have no idea of the dose. I can only imagine what must happen to some people who buy chemicals like MDPV where the dosage is 1-10mg and they do a 100mg line or something. Little fishy spent a week online reading all the available information on Mephedrone and asking other peoples advice/opinions.

The problem isn't the drug, it's the people who lack common sense.

[Triple7]

Originally Posted by Evil GIR

Why do people just take anything they get there hands on ?
I know swim has taken research chemicals before but at least there was some data on them.
Stuff like this is that new know one know`s shit about them and reading about the few trip reports
or experiences it looks like an RC that should be avoided. People should research everything they put into their bodies.
Even if the ambulance got to this girl early, i doubt there is anything they could do except put her on life support
and hope shes able to ride the drug out without dying.

Before SWIM knew this forum, SWIM would have taken anything. A high would have been worth the worst hangover like side-effects. Today SWIM wouldn't even touch ketamine (which was a favorite) if SWIM got paid for using it. SWIM thinks that persons who did not experience enough clean and nice highs are temp to do more stupid things like OD on dirty stuff.

Less can be more (fun).

[Synesthesiac]

Originally Posted by Triple7

Today SWIM wouldn't even touch ketamine (which was a favorite) if SWIM got paid for using it.

Strange. Swim got the impression from the ketamine wiki that its a relatively safe drug, as doctors have given it in much higher amounts than recreational use usually does. Sorry to change the subject for a sec, but why do you say this?

[Triple7]

Originally Posted by Synesthesiac

Strange. Swim got the impression from the ketamine wiki that its a relatively safe drug, as doctors have given it in much higher amounts than recreational use usually does. Sorry to change the subject for a sec, but why do you say this?

SWIM just doesn't like the ketamine experience. Last time SWIM puked for 5 hours and wasn't able to walk for about 2 hours from snorting a third gram. SWIM doesn't like the feel of toxicity and dizziness from ketamine.

OH, about a month ago someone died from ketamine. Just word of mouth. It isn't printed anywhere.

Hmm... what was I say about mephedrone?? Heh.. it's mixed with coke (and then sold as coke) in Sweden... *grins*.. so that substance is indeed wide spread.. bit curious to know the expression if the end customer of this specific smell.

[Synesthesiac]

So sad. We really need to find out more about this. Which online vendor did she get it from? How much did she do? Did she have any other condition? Did it happen directly after doing too much, or on the comedown?

One thing I would note is that it said they were mixing it with hashish, which is known to cause a notable drop in blood pressure. And some people have reported a drop in blood pressure and lightheadedness when coming down off mephedrone. Maybe this is not a good combination. But swim has been witness to people (or rather, idiots) doing silly amounts of mephedrone himself, some people doing it every day for a week with relatively little side effects, so some people do seem more tolerant than others.

It says she went blue in the head, swim knows someone who did too much mephedrone went purple/blue in the knees and elbows. Looks like he was luckier than he realised. And he was also complaining of cramp in his hands too, like this girl had. Dont know if they would be related or not. These pictures are exactly what happened to swims associate, with slightly less pronounced elbow discolouration but probably even worse knees:



Synesthesiac added 32 Minutes and 5 Seconds later...

Okay, this maybe bullshit, but on another forum discussing this someone said it was misreported as 4-MMC and was infact 4-MTA.

This death was nothing to do with 4-MMC.

It was misreported, the original article saying that 4-MTA was the chemical in question.

If you look at the issues, it's clearly serotonin syndrome, just the media confused the two chemicals, and now 4-MMC is a "killer".

4-MMC was made illegal, through another media cockup.

I dont know what news report he is referring to, and I find it hard to believe.

[Alfa]

This not exactly the first incident with mephedrone. And likely this will not be the last mephedrone death.

[Synesthesiac]

I feel a media storm coming on if there are any more deaths. And probably not just for mephedrone, probably for all 'legal' research chemicals in general. I can just see the govenment reaction to the media "Anyone caught buying any chemical online, whether its kava or caffiene, will be jailed for ten years without parole"

[jaffacake]

Originally Posted by Alfa

This not exactly the first incident with mephedrone. And likely this will not be the last mephedrone death.

According to erowid it wasn't mephedrone it was 4-MTA. I think some idiot either mis-translated or simply confused the two.

[Abrad]

Originally Posted by jaffacake

According to erowid it wasn't mephedrone it was 4-MTA. I think some idiot either mis-translated or simply confused the two.

Where?
Or are you referring to a separate incident?

[KomodoMK]

Originally Posted by jaffacake

According to erowid it wasn't mephedrone it was 4-MTA. I think some idiot either mis-translated or simply confused the two.

Please quote sources when posting such statements, this helps us towards our collective aim of preventing the spread of misinformation.

[inorbit]

Putting something up your nose just means it works quicker, you use less and it becomes instantly more risky...... works quicker and use less is very appealing but..... is it worth it, look what happend with some other substances?.... 2c products were at one time easily available.... they blasted in to the general publics limelight because of irresponsible people and organisations, including the trusted source... erowid, suggesting sticking it up your nose. The result was some tragic deaths and the banning of all 2c substances in most wester countries.
Recently there have been problems with a new substance, have these problems come from the same route of ingestion?.... who knows but I would suspect so.
I take certain substances to enhance my life not end it.
Surely it is time for a more responsible attitude from all parties involved..... the inventors, manufacturer's, purveyors, enforcement agencies, law makers and users.
It seems stupid and irresponsible to invent and market a recreational substance thats potentially dangerous and illegal, just the same as it is to sell cigarettes, petrochemicals, gambling, weapons and debt (same same but legal and profitable for economys) but, none are going away. We are banning landmines, reducing carbon imissions, tackling third world and individual debt, promoting easy gambling, but banning what can if correctly managed, be realtively safe recreational substances in favour of and causing the introduction of the unknown substances and eventually forcing them into an illegitimate limelight feeding criminality, fueling an underworld and seperating people from the norm of recognised and respectable society.
Lets face it, amongst the socially acceptable killers have to be oil and macdonalds and, outside our own deminishing economies, thirld world debt....... surely e is way down the list....... I used to smoke weed, now I dont cos i cant stand genetically engineered hydro paranoia skunk.... There's a market that might help some poor third world farmer and their close to starving neighbours as although that stuff grown in dirt isnt as strong, it dosent polute the environment and some reports say it enriches the soil making it good for other crops. Whilst I dont like seeds in my smoke we all know hemp snacks seem to be rather nutricious and tasty!!!!.... seems a bit fucking obvious really hey...
We dont need a revolution, we need an evolution.

Reputation Comments on this post:

'genetically engineered hydro paranoia skunk'

[bob_arctor]

Mephedrone was propagated fast through a eurotrash:y kind of community where security thinking (for sites and vendors) and quality of advice is basically 0. Some heroes try to point to the dark side of for example mephedrone when that became available not only from foreign vendors but also swedish ones.

SWIM for one can't stand the forum even though a concerted effort of consciousness-raising is needed for the teenagers and old already-damaged druggies hanging around there. Elitism isn't the answer - in part it is what lead to the tragic death of this girl.

Reputation Comments on this post:

very well laid out

[ThirdEyeFloond]

The toxicology report was inconclusive so I highly doubt Erowid would state otherwise. Mephedrone was suspected because it was found in the deceased's possesion and used among his circle of friends. Considering the popularity and availability of mephedrone compared to 4-MTA in Denmark I strongly doubt the latter being the case. I recall seeing 4-MTA mentioned on some forum as a possibility because it could fit the symptoms of the deceased, but it was based on nothing more than guesswork, so I find it hard to believe that Erowid would state this as a determined fact.

[jaffacake]

Originally Posted by ThirdEyeFloond

The toxicology report was inconclusive so I highly doubt Erowid would state otherwise. Mephedrone was suspected because it was found in the deceased's possesion and used among his circle of friends. .

Which case are you referring to? The case in this thread is about a girl in Sweden, you appear to be talking about a man in Denmark.

And the mother of the man in Denmark said "there was no way" of ever knowing what killed him. Suspecting mephedrone killed someone because it was found in his possession isn't a reliable way of ascertaining cause of death.

[Abrad]

Jaffacake

Please post a source for your claim that it was 4-MTA which was responsible for either death.

[jaffacake]

Ignore the death in Denmark - even the mother has said they have no idea what caused that.

The one in Sweden is where the confusion is. Can you post a RELIABLE source saying the death in Sweden was due to an overdose of Mephedrone? The situation appears so confused that people arn't even talking about the correct death when they claim mephedrone caused it.

[Synesthesiac]

Originally Posted by jaffacake

Can you post a RELIABLE source saying the death in Sweden was due to an overdose of Mephedrone?

Can you post a RELIABLE source saying the death in Sweden was not due to an overdose of Mephedrone?

Til you do this, we're going in circles.

But I do take your point. Apart from a couple of media reports about this incident we have no real 'official' account about anything yet.