‘Monkey dust’ drug unleashes ‘zombie’-like addicts in UK town

Reports of “monkey dust” coming in from former industrial towns across the United Kingdom have residents terrified.

Drug-crazed addicts eating shards of glass. People jumping off tall buildings. Superhuman “Hulks” overpowering police.

These are allegedly the results of people high on “monkey dust,” a synthetic drug with effects similar to amphetamines that have become a scourge of small-town Britain.

“I got into dust, monkey dust, lost everything, and now I’m on the floor,” said one addict, formerly employed as a plumber but now living in a tent.

“I’m still taking dust. It’s all we do all day, rush around, try … to get hold of dust, because it’s so addictive,” he said, as quoted in the Evening Standard.

“They offer it to you. It’s homeless people, trying to make ends meet, dealing. People push it, they want to get you hooked, and then they exploit you,” he added.

The UK government is now considering changing the status of monkey dust to a Class A drug, which means criminals caught supplying this drug will face a lifetime prison sentence.

“These synthetic drugs ruin lives, families and neighborhoods,” UK Minister of State Chris Philp said in a news release.

“Made in labs and pumped into our communities, our drug laws must keep pace with their evolution,” Philp added.

What is monkey dust?

Monkey dust — also referred to as “zombie dust” — is a synthetic cathinone, a stimulant with effects similar to amphetamine or bath salts, speeding up messages between the brain and the body.

The purest form of the drug is a chemical compound known as methylenedioxypyrovalerone, but because monkey dust is cooked up in illegal labs, there’s no way of knowing what other drugs or impurities it might contain.

The drug — snorted, smoked, swallowed or injected — was once sold in US gas stations and corner markets until it was declared an illegal substance in 2012.

Drug dealers sell monkey dust cheaply, and a $25 supply can produce a high that lasts as long as 12 hours.

Certain low-income regions of the UK such as Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire — former center of a thriving pottery industry — have emerged as hot spots for the drug.

What are the effects of monkey dust?

The drug causes an intense, fast-acting rush of energy and euphoria, making people feel strong, even invincible.

“Users can feel like they have superpowers and experience a surge in adrenaline,” Nuno Albuquerque, an addictions counselor at the UK Addictions Treatment Centres, told Euronews Next.

Monkey dust can also induce paranoia and increased agitation, which can lead to violent behavior in some individuals.

“When it comes to monkey dust, the mental risks associated with the substance can be extremely severe,” Dr. Catherine Carney of Delamere, a UK drug treatment clinic, told Cosmopolitan.

“It can cause the user to act aggressively and violently, or cause them to have no control over their behavior. This is why we have seen cases of people acting erratically in recent months,” Carney added.

However, some media reports of the drug’s effects are overblown: “It is a myth that monkey dust makes people into zombies,” said the psychiatrist. 

Additionally, police in Staffordshire told VICE News they know nothing about an alleged glass-eating incident, and cathinone cannot give users superhuman strength.

Nonetheless, the drug is very dangerous and highly addictive, and UK officials hope giving it a Class A classification — like cocaine and heroin — will stem the tide of addiction and abuse that’s ravaging working-class cities across the country.

“The reclassification would make the drugs harder to access and introduce tougher penalties for possession,” said Rob Hessell, chief inspector of the Staffordshire Police.

“We have a dedicated operation, together with key local partners, aimed at disrupting the supply of monkey dust in Stoke-on-Trent and safeguarding those vulnerable to associated anti-social behavior and criminality,” Hessell added.

“It is hoped that by signposting users to support and treatment, through our work with partner agencies, we will be able to reduce the adverse impact the substance has on the local community.”