Mephedrone - a.k.a. Meow Meow

Overview

BBC Eye Investigations exposes the growing problem of mephedrone use among Russian teenagers, a synthetic drug known as “meow” or “the poor man's cocaine” - following the entire drug chain from Chinese precursors, to Russian production labs, to the lives destroyed by addiction. Technology has supercharged this crisis. Unlike in the West, where darknet drugs are typically mailed, Russia’s distribution system relies on GPS-tagged caches hidden in public spaces. These rapid, anonymous pickups allow users to access drugs within hours. Behind this system are sprawling darknet markets and encrypted Telegram channels, where vendors recruit teenagers as couriers - or “cladmen” - with promises of fast money. As law enforcement arrests thousands of these low-level runners, the system simply regenerates.