Many students are probably still in denial about the tests, papers and homework assignments that await you during your first days back from a relaxing week off school.

But what if instead of mid-term exams, the university had you take potentially lethal party drugs?

50 students at John Moores University in Liverpool will participate in a university experiment of mephedrone, a currently legal high unheard of until it exploded in popularity in the British club scene last year. With effects similar to those of cocaine or ecstasy, mephedrone, which goes by the street name of Miaow Miaow or M-Cat, has been linked to several deaths in the United Kingdom in recent weeks.

But despite public outcry, John Moores researchers insist they need to study the effects of the newly invented substance.

“During these tests, the university makes it clear they do not condone drug use,” said Dr Cathy Montgomery, the psychology lecturer behind the research. “Until now, most evidence comes from people anecdotally. We will be holding structured interviews with users, asking them how they feel at different time points. Students here at John Moores tell us they prefer mephedrone over the drugs they were using before.”

The volunteers will describe their mood as the drug takes hold and when they come down.

Meanwhile, British lawmakers are calling for a ban on the drug with increasing urgency.

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