An MP has called for the “horrific” drug monkey dust—which can be bought for as “little as £2”—to be upgraded to a Class A drug following a string of rising cases.
Highlighting the dangers to the BBC, Jack Brenton, a Conservative party member for Stoke-on-Trent South, claimed that users had started fires and jumped off buildings during a parliamentary debate at Westminster Hall.
Monkey dust, which is currently listed as a Class B drug, can have a number of effects on users, including feeling energetic, talkative and having an intense connection to music, which is similar to the effects of MDMA or cocaine.
Many of the naturally occurring stimulant drugs are still new and little is known about them, so the risks from using them are unpredictable. Explaining that the prominence of Monkey dust had “edged back in again”, the MP said reassessing the classification of the drug would increase jail terms for dealers who are caught.
“People have all sorts of reactions to it, jumping off buildings, starting fires, we even had people eating through glass windows because they don’t know what they’re doing,” he said.
Speaking to Sky News in 2018, PC Rich Frost said: “When you are trying to restrain [people on the drug], it’s like you are dealing with someone who thinks they are the Incredible Hulk. The strength is unbelievable.”
While those armed with Class B drugs face up to five years imprisonment, Chris Philp, Minister of State for the Home Department, said that MPs will now discuss if the evidence against monkey dust would warrant a reclassification.