Club drug to be banned after 25 deaths

Mephedrone will join the list of Class B drugs from April 16 following the completion of its parliamentary process yesterday.

Use of the drug, also known as M-Cat and Plant Food, has grown in the last 18 months and it has become readily available over the internet and in pubs and clubs.

But concerns have been expressed about the side-effects of the drug, which is sold as plant food. These can include headaches, palpitations, nausea, high blood pressure, burning throat and nosebleeds.

The ban followed the deaths of Nick Smith, 19, of Winterton, and Louis Wainwright, 18, of Winteringham in North Lincolnshire last month after a night out in nearby Scunthorpe, followed a week later by that of Lois Walters, 24, of Malton in North Yorkshire.