MONKEY Dust, Cannibal Dust and Bath Salts are all names for the drug MDPV.
It is what is called a synthetic cathinone and is similar in its make up to amphetamines.
People who take Monkey Dust experience intense hallucinations leading to paranoia and dampens users’ sense of pain.
In America the drug is known as Bath Salts and comes as an off-white powder that can be swallowed, injected or snorted by users.
The name originates from the days before ‘legal highs’ were outlawed and synthetic concoctions were labelled as bath salts or plant food and sold online.
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Monkey Dust: How big is the issue?
Monkey Dust is often available for as little as £2.
People using cathinones like Monkey Dust and speed risk overstimulating their circulatory system by putting pressure on their heart.
This can cause permanent damage.
The drug can also damage the nervous system and can cause users to have fits.
Drinking and taking the drug can cause users to become comatose and increases the risk of dying.
By reducing users’ inhibitions Monkey Dust and drugs like it can lead to people engaging in risky behaviour like unsafe sex or climbing buildings.
People taking the drug have been filmed on top of buildings, one man was spotted swaying on top of a roof in Stoke, and have been known to climb lampposts to escape their hallucinations which make them believe they are being chased.
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