had led to the deaths of over 20 people, teachers were unable to confiscate the drug from pupils and the government was too slow to ban the drug. parallels were drawn between the media coverage of mephedrone and a piece of satire by chris morris in 1997 on brass eye when he tricked public figures into talking of the dangers of taking the fictional legal drug "cake". the advisory council on the misuse of drugs (acmd) have suggested that the media coverage of the drug led to its increased usage. jon silverman, a former bbc home affairs correspondent, has written two articles discussing how the media had a strong influence over the uk government's drugs policy, particularly in that the government wished to demonstrate they were being "tough" on drugs. a survey of 1000 secondary school pupils and university students in tayside conducted in february 2010 found 20% of them had previously taken mephedrone. although at the time it was available legally over the internet, only 10% of users reported purchasing it online, with most purchasing it from street dealers. of those who had used mephedrone, 97% said it was easy or very easy to obtain. around 50% of users reported at least one negative effect associated with the use of mephedrone, of which teeth grinding is the most common. detailed interviews with users in northern ireland similarly found that few purchased mephedrone online, with most interviewees citing concerns that their address would be traced or that family members could intercept the package. on 30 march 2010, alan johnson, the then home secretary, announced mephedrone would be made illegal "within weeks" after the acmd sent him a report on the use of cathinones. the legislation would make all cathinones illegal, which johnson said would "stop unscrupulous manufacturers and others peddling different but similarly harmful drugs". the acmd had run into problems with the uk government in 2009 regarding drugs policy, after the government did not follow the advice of the acmd to reclassify ecstasy and cannabis, culminating in the dismissal of the acmd chairman, david nutt, after he reiterated the acmd's findings in an academic lecture. several members resigned after he was sacked, and prior to the announcement that mephedrone was to be banned, the trend continued when dr polly taylor resigned, saying she "did not have trust" in the way the government would use the advice given by the acmd. eric carlin, a member of the acmd and former chairman of the english drug education forum, also resigned after the announcement. he said the decision by the home secretary was "unduly based on media and political pressure" and there was "little or no discussion about how our recommendation to classify this drug would be likely to impact on young people's behaviour." some former members of the acmd and various charity groups expressed concern over the banning of the drug, arguing it would inevitably criminalise users, particularly young people. others expressed concern that the drug would be left in the hands of black market dealers, who will only compound the problem. carlin's resignation was specifically linked to the criminalisation of mephedrone; he stated: "we need to review our entire approach to drugs, dumping the idea that legally-sanctioned punishments for drug users should constitute a main part of the armoury in helping to solve our country’s drug problems. we need to stop harming people who need help and support". the parliamentary debate was held on 8 april, one day after the 2010 general election had been announced, meaning it was during the so-called "wash-up period" when legislation is passed with little scrutiny. only one hour was spent debating the ban and all three parties agreed, meaning no vote was required. in an interview conducted in july 2010, when he was no longer a minister, johnson admitted the decision to ban mephedrone was sped up after widespread reporting of deaths caused by the drug, and because the government wished to pass the law before parliament was dissolved prior to the upcoming general election. in january 2011, however, johnson told the scunthorpe telegraph that the decision was based only on information from the acmd. an editorial in the april 2010 edition of the lancet questioned the decision to ban mephedrone, saying the acmd did not have enough evidence to judge the potential harms caused by mephedrone and arguing that policy makers should have sought to understand why young people took it and how they could be influenced to not take it. evan harris, then the liberal democrat science spokesman, stated the acmd "was not 'legally constituted'" as required by the misuse of drugs act, when the report on cathinones was published, since after taylor resigned, it lacked a veterinary surgeon. in the rush to make mephedrone illegal, the act that was passed specified the inactive enantiomer of mephedrone, leaving the active form legal until the loophole was closed in february 2011 by another act of parliament. in chemistry world, john mann, professor of chemistry at queen's university belfast, suggested the uk create a law similar to the federal analog act of the united states, which would have made mephedrone illegal as an analog of cathinone. in august 2010, james brokenshire, the home office drugs minister, announced plans to create a new category in the misuse of drugs act, through the police reform and social responsibility bill, that would allow new legal highs to be made temporarily illegal, without the need for a vote in parliament or advice from the acmd, as was required to categorise mephedrone. according to the independent scientific committee on drugs, after mephedrone was made illegal, a street trade in the drug emerged, with prices around double those prior to the ban, at £20–£25 per gram. in september 2010, druglink reported the ban had a mixed effect on mephedrone use, with it decreasing in some areas, remaining similar in others and becoming more prevalent in some areas. in an online survey of 150 users after the ban, 63% said they were continuing to use mephedrone; of those, half claimed unchanged usage amounts (as to dosage and frequency) and half claimed decreased usage. compared to previous surveys, more users purchased it from dealers, rather than the internet. the average price per gram was £16, compared to around £10 before the ban. the 2010 mixmag survey of 2,500 nightclubbers found one quarter had used mephedrone in the previous month, the price had roughly doubled since it was made illegal, and it was more likely to be cut with other substances. of those who had already used mephedrone prior to the ban, 75% had continued to use it after the ban. of the various drugs used by the survey participants, users were more likely to have concerns about it. interviews with users in northern ireland also found the price had roughly doubled since it was made illegal, to around £30 a gram. rather than the price rising due to increased scarcity of the drug, it is thought to have risen for two other reasons. firstly, dealers knew there was still demand for mephedrone, but were aware the supplies may be exhausted in the future. secondly, the dealers perceived customers were likely to be willing to pay more for an illegal substance. professor shiela bird, a statistician at the medical research council, suggested the ban of mephedrone may lead to more cocaine-related deaths. in the first six months of 2009, the number of cocaine-related deaths fell for the first time in four years, and fewer soldiers tested positive for cocaine in 2009 than in 2008. she suggested this may have been due to users switching to mephedrone from cocaine, but cautioned that before full figures are available for 2009 and 2010, it will be difficult to determine whether mephedrone saved lives, rather than cost them. other supposedly legal drugs have filled the gap in the market since mephedrone was made illegal, including naphyrone (nrg-1) (since made illegal) and ivory wave, which has been found to contain mdpv, a compound made illegal at the same time as mephedrone. however, some products branded as ivory wave possibly do not contain mdpv. when tested, some products sold six weeks after mephedrone was banned, advertised as nrg-1, nrg-2 and mdai, were found to be mephedrone. a drugscope survey of drugs workers at the end of 2012 reported that mephedrone use was still widespread in the uk and that there increasing reports of problematic users. it was being taken as not only a "poor man's cocaine" but also amongst users of heroin and crack cocaine. cases of intravenous use were also reported to be on the increase. society and culture legal status a sample of mephedrone that was confiscated in oregon, us, 2009 when mephedrone was rediscovered in 2003, it was not specifically illegal to possess in any country. as its use has increased, many countries have passed legislation making its possession, sale and manufacture illegal. it was first made illegal in israel, where it had been found in products such as neodoves pills, in january 2008. after the death of a young woman in sweden in december 2008 was linked to the use of mephedrone, it was classified as a hazardous substance a few days later, making it illegal to sell in sweden. in june 2009, it was classified as a narcotic with the possession of 15 grams or more resulting in a minimum of two years in prison—a longer sentence, gram for gram than given for the possession of cocaine or heroin. in december 2008, denmark also made it illegal and through the medicines act of finland, it was made illegal to possess without a prescription. in november 2009, it was classified as a "narcotic or psychotropic" substance and added to the list of controlled substances in estonia and made illegal to import into guernsey along with other legal highs, before being classified as a class b drug in april 2010. it was classified as a class c drug in jersey in december 2009. in 2010, as its use became more prevalent, many countries passed legislation prohibiting mephedrone. it became illegal in croatia and germany in january, followed by romania and the isle of man in february. in march 2010, it was classified as an unregulated medicine in the netherlands, making the sale and distribution of it illegal. the importation of mephedrone into the uk was banned on 29 march 2010. the next day, the acmd in the uk published a report on the cathinones, including mephedrone, and recommended they be classified as class b drugs. on 7 april 2010, the misuse of drugs act 1971 (amendment) order 2010 was passed by parliament, making mephedrone and other substituted cathinones, class b drugs from 16 april 2010. prior to the ban taking effect, mephedrone was not covered by the misuse of drugs act 1971. it was, though, an offence under the medicines act to sell it for human consumption, so it was often sold as "plant food" or "bath salts", although it has no use as these products; this, too, was possibly illegal under the trade descriptions act 1968. in the us, similar descriptions have been used to describe mephedrone, as well as methylenedioxypyrovalerone (mdpv). in may 2010, the republic of ireland made mephedrone illegal, followed by belgium, italy, lithuania, france and norway in june and russia in july. in august 2010, austria and poland made it illegal and china announced it would be illegal as of 1 september 2010. mephedrone had been reported to be used in singapore in february 2010, but it was made illegal in november 2010. in december 2010, following the advice of the emcdda, mephedrone was made illegal throughout the eu, a move switzerland also made shortly afterwards. countries which have not already banned it, such as the netherlands, greece and portugal, will need to change legislation to comply with the eu ruling. in hungary, a government advisory body recommended mephedrone should be made illegal in august 2010, which was followed, making it illegal in january 2011; spain followed in february 2011. mexico, by decree, outlawed mephedrone as a substance "with low or no therapeutical use which pose a serious threat to public health" in 2014. in some countries, mephedrone is not specifically listed as illegal, but is controlled under legislation