POLICE have issued a warning following the death of a teenager suspected of taking the illegal class B drug mephedrone, also known as MCAT.
The 19-year-old fell ill in a flat in Renfrew at 10.15pm on Sunday and was rushed to Paisley's Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH) where she later died.
Four other people were also taken to hospital from the property in the town's Paisley Road to be treated for signs of suspected drug misuse.
Two other women, aged 18 and 19, and two men, aged 24 and 31, were taken to the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow and RAH.
Neighbours spoke of their shock. One woman said: "I can't believe it. I just don't want to live here anymore. It's getting worse.
"I can't believe someone has died, it's horrible. This needs to stop."
A post-mortem examination will take place to determine the exact cause of the woman's death, with witnesses believing she may have also taken ketamine.
Mephedrone, which has the street name MCAT, is sold as a white powder - which users snort in a similar way to cocaine - or capsule form.
Detective Chief Inspector Arlene Smith said: "Extensive inquiries are continuing into the circumstances of the woman's death, and although unconfirmed, one of the lines of enquiry is that prior to her taking unwell she may have taken an illegal substance.
"At this time it may be that the drug involved is MCAT.
"Police Scotland is issuing a warning to anyone who has obtained or taken this or similar substances. Do not take illicit drugs and stay away from any unknown substances. No-one can predict the risks involved or the serious consequences."
Medical staff are also urging anyone who may have taken the substance and are feeling unwell to visit accident and emergency.
In February, 17-year-old schoolgirl Regane MacColl died after apparently taking a Mortal Kombat ecstasy tablet.
She died after falling ill in The Arches nightclub in Glasgow.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article