[Tezcatlipoca]

Teenagers' deaths 'not caused by mephedrone'

Originally Posted by BBC News

Toxicology tests have shown that two teenagers whose deaths were linked to mephedrone had not taken the drug.

The deaths of Louis Wainwright, 18, and Nicholas Smith, 19, in March 2010 sparked concern about the synthetic stimulant, which was then legal.

The Labour government banned the "legal high" in April, making it a Class B drug.

Former chief drugs adviser Prof David Nutt said the test results undermined the reasons behind the ban.

But Professor Les Iverson, the current chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), said the decision to recomment a ban on mephedrone was based on "thorough research".

It is thought further tests are being conducted to try to establish what, if any, substances the pair had taken.

(snip)