Mark McEwan warns about mephedrone.
HE was a convicted drug dealer at 13 and, aged just 15, earned £80 a day running drugs from London to the Island as part of a massive heroin ring.
Now an older and wiser Mark McEwan says he has turned his back on the drugs which ruined his life and wants to make amends by raising awareness to what he sees as a new danger on the streets, the so-called legal high, mephedrone.
He believes the powerful white powder, which has gone from nowhere to fourth position in a study of clubbers’ drug-taking habits, is worse than heroin and fears it could suck young people into a downward spiral of drug addiction.
The 28-year-old, from Carisbrooke, who was jailed for three years in 2001 for conspiracy to supply heroin, claims those who take mephedrone are oblivious to the dangers.
He said: "Parents, particularly, don’t know how powerful it is. They buy it for their children because they don’t want them to go onto heroin but they don’t realise it’s just as bad, worse in fact.It’s taken by people of all ages and from all walks of life. I thought it was safe to begin with because you could buy it from a shop."
Mark’s first encounter with mephedrone, which is commonly found in plant food and has a host of street names, including meph, drone, meow and bubbles, was at the IW Festival last year.
"Someone gave me a line of it and that was it, I was hooked," he said.
"I was 13 stone of pure muscle before I started taking the stuff and within two months I had lost two-and-a-half stone."
Mark says he wants to stop young people from repeating his mistakes and hopes to set up a kids’ foundation, offering advice and support through music and other activities. He has also started up a Facebook campaign, which already has 500 members.
"They need to hear from someone who’s been there and back a hundred times over. If I can save just one child’s life, it will be worth doing this," he said.
• To read Mark’s full story, see next week’s County Press.