POLICE today warned of the dangers of a “legal” drug - which saw one user rip off his own scrotum.

POLICE today warned of the dangers of a “legal” drug - which saw one user rip off his own scrotum.

Mephedrone is being sold legally on the internet as plant fertiliser but is more commonly known on the streets as “drone”,

“bubble”, “meow meow” or “legal high”.

Its chemical formula is one molecule different to ecstasy and as such dealers are claiming is not a controlled substance.

However, Durham Police are warning that its use can result in severe nose bleeds, nose burns, hallucinations, blood circulation problems, rashes, anxiety and paranoia, fits, delusions and can lead to a heart attack.

Police said five young people had been admitted to hospital in County Durham in recent weeks after taking mephedrone.

A police report into the use of the drug said: “A large number of contributors state how addictive mephedrone is and they are constantly topping up as one individual states that after using it for 18 hours his hallucinations led him to believe that centipedes were crawling over him and biting him.

“This led him to receive hospital treatment after he ripped his scrotum off.”