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Ordak M, Nasierowski T, Muszynska E.
“The growing problem of mephedrone use in Warsaw, Poland, 2010-18”.
Lancet Psychiatry. 2018 Oct 02;5(10):787.
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Abstract
[EXCERPT] Between August, 2010, and April, 2018, 601 people were admitted to Nowowiejski Hospital in Warsaw, after a mephedrone binge (ie, 2 days or more using mephedrone), of whom 559 (93) were men. The average length of a binge was 12·4 days (SD 18·7) and the average dose of mephedrone was 1·52 g per day (SD 2·15; unpublished). By age, the largest group of patients was aged 26–35 years (333 [55] of 601 people). The younger the individual, the higher the dose of mephedrone they tended to take (figure A; p=0·006) and the longer their binge lasted (figure B; p=0·008). The number of patients admitted to hospital after a mephedrone binge increased from August, 2010, to April, 2018.
595 (99) of 601 patients combined mephedrone with other psychoactive substances--primarily, alcohol, heroin, benzodiazepines, opioids, and cannabinols. Furthermore, polypharmacotherapy was used in their treatment, which resulted in frequent adverse reactions associated with drug interactions. Therefore, determining the side-effects of taking mephedrone alone and the study of its metabolism are difficult.
These findings show that subsequent versions of the Polish Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction have not reduced the number of patients admitted to hospital after a mephedrone binge.
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