Mephedrone found not guilty, but the next legal high may be a killer

Former Lib Dem MP Evan Harris argues that the rush to make mephedrone illegal – despite a lack of evidence it had caused deaths – has put young people in even greater danger
The Guardian (UK)
Thursday, 5 August 2010

The mephedrone scare started at the end of 2009 when newspapers and the BBC reported that Gabrielle Price, a 14-year-old girl from Brighton, had died after taking the drug. The story was based on rumour and police statements. The hysteria over mephedrone is a classic example of indulgent moral outrage at the expense of a common-sense harm reduction strategy.