Enemies of Reason Poundshop potshots at the media moral maze.

Did it kill them?

News today about the tragic deaths of two teenagers:

Toxicology tests have shown that two teenagers whose deaths were linked to mephedrone had not taken the drug.

The deaths of Louis Wainwright, 18, and Nicholas Smith, 19, in March 2010 sparked concern about the synthetic stimulant, which was then legal.

The Labour government banned the so-called "legal high" in April, making it a Class B drug alongside amphetamines and cannabis.

At the time, you could have been forgiven for thinking there was no doubt about what killed the pair:

Not a sniff of doubt about it back then: MEOW MEOW KILLS. The Sun couldn't resist a bit of kneejerkery and roared BAN DRUG NOW. Luckily for all drug-fearing parents everywhere, the then-Labour administration knew its masters at the Sun were right, and hastily ensured a ban did take place.

Which isn't to say that mephedrone is entirely safe, or should be put in a bag with a lolly like a Sherbet Dip-Dab, or anything; it's just that, as I thought at the time, sometimes it's best to wait and see before blundering in to making conclusions and driving up a moral panic - particularly if you're a massive newspaper with millions of readers, some of whom will actually believe what you say, and you're not entirely sure, and not all the facts are known.

The deaths are still as tragic as they were, whatever the cause. And before the inquest is concluded, we still don't know the exact circumstances. But I wonder if the Sun or Monday's Metro will give equal prominence to the real cause of death, if  it's established not to be something that chimes in with a moral panic agenda.

I don't wonder actually.

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