YOUNG people in Lancaster have become caught up in a new 'legal high' drug craze sweeping the country.
Police arrested seven students at the Sugar House nightclub last week after compulsory searches by doorstaff revealed they were carrying white powder.
The substance, believed to be Bubble - a street name for mephedrone - has now been sent away fo
r analysis.
This is the first time police have made arrests in Lancaster in connection with the drug, which can be bought legally over the internet, where it is advertised as plant food.
But it's believed to be becoming increasingly common among young people in the district, where it can be bought at around £12 a gram.
Simon Rothwell, project worker at Young Addaction, said Bubble, also known as Meow, M1 and M-Cat, is now probably among the top five drugs for young people.
"Because it's legal and you can purchase it over the internet a lot of people have got into it," he said.
"We have not seen the rise of a legal high like it before.
"The problem is we don't know the long-term effects because it's so new. We are warning people not to assume it's safe merely because it's legal."
The drug - which users claim gives an almost instant stimulated high - has been linked to the death of a 14-year-old girl in Brighton as well as another death in Sweden.
DCI Neil Gregson of Lancaster police said: "As is the case with all drugs which appear in powder form, mephedrone lends itself to being 'cut' with other drugs.
"This means you can never know exactly what you are putting into your body."
A spokesman for Lancaster University, who run the Sugar House, said: "The university actively promotes health and wellbeing among its students including education about drugs and alcohol."
DID YOU KNOW?
Mephedrone originated in China and has been shipped to the UK over the last 18 months. It is not illegal to possess the drug, but it is illegal to sell it for human consumption.
It usually takes the form of a white powder or crystals, but can also be in tablet form or capsules.
'Bubble' can cause severe nose bleeds, nose burns, hallucinations, blood circulation problems, rashes, anxiety and paranoia, fits and delusions.
It can become addictive and if taken with alcohol or cut with other drugs it can result in death.
Several countries, including Sweden, Israel, Norway and Finland, have already banned the drug.
