Mephedrone user barred from Hereford pub
A Hereford licensee was forced to throw out and bar a customer after he was caught using new "legal high" drug Mephedrone or "Meow".
The Litten Tree in Hereford, Herefordshire operates a zero tolerence drugs policy and accordingly carries out door searches and regular toilet checks, which is how the man was caught.
Sold as plant food, Mephedrone induces similar effects as cocaine and ecstasy but is cheaper to buy at around £10 to £15 a gram in powder, capsule or liquid form.
Licensee of the Town and City pub Paul Neades will urge his Pubwatch members to ban the man from all the pubs in the area at the next meeting this Thursday (11 March).
Neades held the boy, who still had a bag of powder, until the police arrived and barred him for a minimum of 12 months.
The police confirmed the drug, which looks like cocaine in its powder form, was Mephedrone. The man was released without charge.
"They had to let him go as the drug is legal," said Neades. "Use is becoming more widespread because it is so cheap and easy to get.
"We are looking at it as anti-social behaviour, The police are just waiting for it to be classified."
A January survey by clubbers' magazine MixMag revealed that one in three of its readers had taken Mephedrone in the last month,
The Government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs will report on the harm caused by the drug in March and could lead to an official crackdown.
