Melbourne, Sept 20 (ANI): Despite being cheap, easy to find, and more addictive than cocaine, experts have warned that meow meow (or Drone, among other names) is no party drug - it's literally frying your brain.
Meow meow, Drone and MCAT are street names for mephedrone, a synthetic psychoactive drug that is also found in so-called "Bath Salts."
It's been on the party scene for a number of years in Australia and it's estimated that tens of thousands of revellers dabble in the off-white power, the Daily Telegraph reported.
It's said to produce a similar but more powerful high than either ecstasy or cocaine and is dangerously addictive.
Yet, the dangers of this relatively new and unknown drug are only just beginning to surface.
Researchers from the University of Sydney have found compelling evidence that mephedrone can give users significant memory loss, the long-term effects of which aren't yet fully understood.
Craig Motbey, the leader of the controlled testing on rats, says meow meow is similar to amphetamine, and huge numbers of people have been taking it for years.
"It exploded so fast and so wide," he told News.com.au.
"[But] we know virtually nothing about the drug. Now there's a big push to find out if it's doing damage.
"It might be something that causes subtle damage that builds up, but we don't realise anything's wrong until a couple of years later when we have tens of thousands of fried brains," he added. (ANI)
