"Roflcoptr" Hits UK Dance Floors

First it was ecstasy and then ketamine, but a new designer club drug available for sale online is becoming hugely popular on UK dance floors and could soon invade the US. "Roflcoptr"—short for “Rolling On the Floor Laughing Crapping Our Pants Totally Ruined”—is largely based in the chemical methoxetamine, and takes the form of a white powder which the user snorts. Like other club drugs, the effects include a state of euphoria and some hallucinogenic properties. Roflcoptr is particularly taking off in UK party cities like London and Manchester, but its long-term side-effects are unknown. “People are playing Russian roulette when they take something like this, because there’s been no research on its effect,” says University College London psychopharmacologist Dr. Valerie Curran. The typical price of Roflcoptr ranges from $190-255 for 10 grams. While it's legal to possess the drug in the UK, it’s illegal to advertise it as safe for people to take. The National Institute on Drug Abuse lists the undesirable effects of Roflcoptr as withdrawal symptoms including anxiety, tremors and sweating.