Spike in mephedrone use blamed as pupils fail to show for exams

Talented schoolchildren are missing key exams due to the prevalence of a popular street drug, police have warned.

Some teenagers in Brough, near Hull, have been arrested for theft and criminal damage and have admitted to using MCAT, or mephedrone.

Mephedrone was considered a legal high until it was banned in April 2010 and re-classified as a class B drug.

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Inspector Andy Woodhead, from Humberside Police, said they were putting more officers into the area to “nip the problem in the bud”.

He said: “There does seem to be a lot of MCAT around, certainly in the west Hull villages and in the Brough area particularly.

“It is a small group of six to 10 14 to 17-year-olds, who are acting very out of character both in and out of school.

“From the school point of view, some are meant to be taking GCSEs and are not turning up – and some are meant to be straight A students. It is just a waste.

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“When we have spoken to them they have openly admitted to buying MCAT as a group and using it on a regular basis.

“Their parents can only suggest that it is as a result of taking MCAT they have gone off the rails.

“We have to find out who is bringing it in to Brough.”

Users describe the effects of mephedrone – also known as meph and meow meow – as being similar to a combination of ecstasy and cocaine. They say they feel euphoric, more restless and alert, but the effects wear off in around an hour.

There have reports of people hospitalised due to the short-term effects. A small bag of the substance is comparatively cheap at £10.

Mephedrone is part of the cathinone family, a group of drugs that are closely related to amphetamines. One study suggested that since its reclassification it has become more popular with clubbers.