The latest designer drug to flood the Irish market is called mephedrone – marketed as a legal alternative to ecstasy and cocaine – but some users have reacted badly to it and drugs awareness groups have warned that "legal doesn't equal safe".

Mephedrone (4-methylmethcathinone) is made in Chinese laboratories and imported legally to the UK.

Technically, the white powder is a plant food but it is predominantly sold on websites which sell drug paraphernalia and legal highs.

The Sunday Tribune placed an order for 2g of the white
powder from a UK website. It arrived within a couple of days.

Including postage, the legal drug cost just £22.99 (€25.20). In comparison, a gram of cocaine costs between €60-€80.

Mephedrone, known as meph, first became noticeably prevalent in Ireland at musical festivals this summer.

Several internet message boards carry threads about the new designer drug, including tips on where best to order it, how it affects users and highlighting its similarities to ecstasy and cocaine with hallucinogenic properties.

One young woman, who recently snorted a line of the drug, had a negative experience. "I had one line of it in a pub because I was a bit tired, I thought it was cocaine. Immediately afterwards, my face was in total agony. It was awful.

"My two friends had a line too and we all went outside afterwards and they were both sick. Within 20 minutes, I was hallucinating like crazy.

"I had to leave the pub and I was in a taxi with my hands covering my face and I thought my face was coming out between my hands. I really freaked out. It didn't wear off for hours, it was just a dreadful experience."

In December last year, an 18-year-old university student in Sweden was reported to have died after taking mephedrone and the country has outlawed the chemical.

Reported side-effects include an erratic heartbeat as well as loss of feeling in hands and feet. However, not a lot is known about the drug's long-term health effects as it is relatively new.

A garda source said mephedrone is fast becoming the partygoers' legal high of choice and could overtake cocaine because it is so cheap and easy to buy online.

Chris Murphy, director of drug and alcohol policy at Dublin's Crosscare agency, said: "Just because something is legal doesn't mean it's harmless, people need to be aware of the dangers."