Teenager died 'after experimenting with legal drug mephedrone'

A teenager found dead in Berkhamsted on Tuesday had been "experimenting with a legal drug" at a house party, as reported in the Daily Mail. 

Ben Walters, 18, was dead by the time police and paramedics arrived at the flat in Priory Court on Tuesday evening. 

A 28-year-old woman who was with him is "fighting for her life" in Luton and Dunstable hospital, the Mail reports.

Both are said to have taken mephedrone, which is available to buy legally on the internet for as little as £4 a gram. 

It is marketed as plant fertiliser or bath salts, but produces a euphoric high when taken similar to that from Ecstasy or cocaine.

However, side effects including fits, nose bleeds, paranoia, insomnia, memory loss and heart problems have prompted the Home Office to ask the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to review the substance as a priority. 

It has nicknames including "meow meow", "drone" and "bubble", and comes in powder, tablet, crystal or liquid form.

It has already been banned in some European countries, including Norway and Finland, over a string of deaths.

In November, the drug was linked to the death of Brighton schoolgirl Gabrielle Price, 14, but a post mortem classified the cause of death as cardiac arrest and bronchopneumonia.

Under his "political views" on his Facebook profile, Ben had written "No one could teach me how to party".

The Facebook page of the Amersham and Wycombe College drama student has been flooded with tributes from his friends.

Six people have now been arrested over Ben's death, according to the Hemel Hempstead Gazette.

Photograph: Daily Mail

[+] Report abuse