Mephedrone-related deaths are being reported in the press without all the right questions being asked. Too often the presumption is that if the victim was known to have been taking mephedrone, then mephedrone is responsible for the death.  

But this may not necessarily be the case. Moreover, journalists need to give a proper perspective by reporting also on the number of deaths linked to competitor drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy.
 
What questions should journalists ask?
 
Whenever you report a mephedrone-related death, please ask the regional forensic toxicology service where the mephedrone analysis was conducted to answer five simple questions for you about its regional throughput of toxicology for suspected drugs-related deaths. The five questions are:
 
1. How many suspected drugs-related deaths from your region have you screened for illegal drugs in the current quarter and in the preceding quarter.
 
2. In how many of the suspected drugs-related deaths was mephedrone tested for?
 
3. How many of the suspected drugs-related deaths were found to be cocaine-related?
 
4. How many were found to be ecstasy-related?
 
5. And how many were found to be mephedrone-related?
 
Use of mephedrone, which seems to have risen dramatically since 2008, may be as alternative, or in addition, to cocaine/ecstasy. It is therefore important to track just as thoroughly any major changes in the numbers of cocaine-related and ecstasy-related deaths as it is to monitor mephedrone-related deaths.
 
It is also necessary to take into account that mephedrone-related deaths may have been under-ascertained because its presence was not, nor is yet, routinely tested for.