How long mephedrone stays in your system depends on a few things: your size, on how much you have taken, whether you’ve eaten recently and what other drugs you may also have taken.
Snorting is likely to be the most common mode. When snorted, mkat stimulates its effects within a few minutes, with the peak being reached in less than 30 minutes followed by a rapid comedown.
Other typical methods of intake include oral administration, through ingestion of tablets or capsules; swallowing mephedrone powder or wrapping up in cigarette paper („bombing‟) or mixed with water. It takes approximately 15 to 45 minutes to begin feeling the effects but will take longer if you have eaten a big meal.
It can last between two to three hours; however, because of the temptation to sustain the euphoric high users take more via compulsive redosing. Times vary in association with the amount of food contained in the stomach. Because of this, users take mephedrone on an empty stomach. With oral administration, psychoactive effects may last longer (up to 2-4 hours); side effects might be milder and the urge to re-dose less pressing. Some consumers exploit both snorting and oral ingestion in combination to achieve both faster onset and long-lasting effects
Highs from mephedrone in your system
For about an hour after taking mephedrone, you may feel euphoric, alert, empathic to those around you, confident and talkative. Some people describe it as being like a mixture of ecstasy and cocaine.
Mkat comedown
After using mephedrone, people can experience a powerful comedown: they may feel tired, depressed and may find it difficult to concentrate for a short period. The more mephedrone you take and the longer you take it will make the effects of the drug and the comedown worse.
Although there had not been as much research into mephedrone as with other drugs, the medical experts feel it is at its most dangerous when it is mixed with alcohol as this appears to cause breathing problems.
Mephedrone can cause acute withdrawal symptoms:
- loss of appetite
- dry mouth
- nausea
- vomiting and stomach discomfort
- tremors
- tense jaws
- mild muscle clenching
- stiff neck/shoulders
- headache
- dizziness/light-headedness
- seizures
- pupil dilation
- blurred vision
- numbness of tactile sensitivity
- elevated blood pressure
- respiratory difficulties
- changes in body temperature
Mephedrone’s effect on the brain
Recent research shows that mephedrone has a more significant impact on the brain than ecstasy. Mephedrone releases a higher number of chemicals by which a nerve cell communicates with another nerve cell, which translates to more intense withdrawal symptoms.
Furthermore, mephedrone travels to the brain faster than ecstasy. Thus the body can metabolise the drug out of your system that much quicker. Therefore, it’s faster and easier to experience a high when taking mephedrone, which often leads to the user searching for another “quick boost” to get high again. That’s when binging behaviour tends to occur.
Some of the effects of mephedrone in your system are:
- anxiety
- agitation
- confusion
- dysphoria
- irritability
- aggression
- depression
- lack of motivation
- time distortions
- long-lasting hallucinations
- paranoid delusions
- short term psychosis
- short term mania
- insomnia and nightmares
- impaired short term memory
- poor concentration
- mental fatigue
Psychopathological consequences are more frequently reported if the drug is taken at higher dosages and in prolonged sessions.
What is mkat?
In the UK, where mephedrone has been greatly drawing both mass media and Government attention, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has published a report on synthetic cathinone derivatives, recommending their inclusion in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 under Class B. As a result, mephedrone was made a controlled drug (class B) on the 16th April 2010.
Mkat or ‘meow meow’ occurs as a white, sometimes off-white or slightly yellowish, powder or fine crystals. Less frequently, it is marketed as capsules or tablets of various colours, shape, and thickness, with or without a logo. Although mainly sold in powder and crystal forms as plant food or bath salts, mephedrone may be commercially available in tablets and included within vegetable-based capsules.
Treatment options
Treatment for the more life-threatening conditions might be broadly similar to that of amphetamine poisoning. Those individuals presenting with less severe symptoms should be assessed and managed as for any other users of psychoactive drugs with therapy and counselling. People with underlying cardiac, or mental health problems and those on medication, are likely to be at greatest risk of serious adverse events.
If you or a loved one are addicted to mephedrone and are looking for help, Detox Plus can provide a full medical mephedrone detox at a clinic near you.
