'Ivory Wave' legal high replaces mephedrone in UK

A new legal high has emerged that seems to be replacing the banned substance mephedrone or "miaow miaow," warns a critical care paramedic in Emergency Medicine Journal.

The new drug in circulation is "ivory wave," also known as "purple wave," "ivory coast," or "vanilla sky." And its use has already been implicated in hospital admissions and deaths in various parts of England, says the author.

Ivory wave is usually sold online as bath salts in packets of between 200 and 500 mg, for 15 pounds a pop. It can be snorted or swallowed.

"Whether or not this drug in fact contains illegal ingredients is as yet unclear," writes the author from the Southeast Coast Ambulance Service. "The drug's effects are concerning, however, and have been seen in patients in Lothian, Cumbria, Dorset and Essex."...

Ivory wave can contain the stimulant methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and the anaesthetic lignocaine, analysis has shown. But there doesn't seem to be any "set" recipe, says the author, so it can vary enormously in content. MDPV can have effects in doses as low as 5 mg.

Ivory wave's reported effects include initial euphoria, with other symptoms occurring up to a day after using, and lasting as long as a week.

Now doesn't that sound safe and recreational for kids?

[Thanks Sam Hell!]