Saturday Breakfast Show, Strange But True Special: what is a "Legal High"?

The Following advice has come from the NHS Choices website

Examples of what look for

Find out about the health risks of legal highs and when to seek medical help.

Drugs information

• To find out more about specific drugs, including mephedrone (meow meow), BZP, GBL and naphyrone, go to the A-Z of Drugs on the FRANK website.
• For confidential advice about all aspects of drugs and drugs use, call the FRANK helpline on 0800 77 66 00.

Legal highs are substances used like illegal drugs such as cocaine or cannabis, but not covered by current misuse of drugs laws, and so legal to possess or to use.

Although these drugs are marketed as legal substances, this doesn’t mean that they are safe or approved for people to use. It just means that they’ve not been declared illegal to use and possess. They are still normally considered illegal to sell under medicines legislation.

Some drugs marketed as legal highs actually contain some ingredients that are illegal to possess.

The risks

Legal highs can carry serious health risks. The chemicals they contain have in most cases never been used in drugs for human consumption before, so haven't been tested to show that they are safe. Users can never be certain what they are taking and what the effects might be.

Other risks:

• You increase the risk to yourself if you combine alcohol with any legal or illegal substance that causes a high, including the risk of death.
• Reduced inhibitions, drowsiness, excited or paranoid states, coma, seizures and death.
• Because legal highs are often new and, in many cases, the actual chemical ingredients in a branded product can be changed without you knowing, the risks are unpredictable.
• It is likely that a drug sold as a ‘legal high’ may contain one or more substances that are actually illegal to possess.

When to seek medical help

Most problems with short-term use of legal highs will settle after you stop taking them. However, the negative effects of some legal highs can take a few days to wear off completely, just like the comedown from stimulants such as cocaine and amphetamines. 

If you think you are having a serious negative reaction soon after taking a legal high or you experience problems that do not settle with a little time out, fluids and fresh air, get medical help straight away by going to the accident and emergency (A&E) department of your nearest hospital.

If you are worried about continuing health problems after you've stopped taking the drugs, visit your GP. But if you think further advice would be helpful before deciding whether to visit your GP, call the FRANK drugs helpline on 0800 77 66 00 or NHS Direct on 0845 46 47.

Legal highs and the law

Many drugs that were previously sold as legal highs are now controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act, including mephedrone (meow meow), naphyrone, BZP, GBL and synthetic cannabinoids (such as those found in Spice products). This means that they are illegal to possess or to supply to others.

To find out more about the latest news on legal highs, go to the FRANK and Home Office websites:

• FRANK: Latest stuff
• Home Office: 'Legal highs'

KICK ADDICTION WORKSHOPS

Mark Dean is joined in the studio with Elaine Eagleson to talk about the Kick Addiction Workshops. Mark starts by asking to Elaine to tell us about the Kick Addiction workshops and the steps people can take to cut addiction.

Listen again for a limited time 

ADDICTION RELATED WEBSITES  

About external websites 

Kick Addiction workshops website

BBC HEALTH

NHS HEALTH

 Myths about Drug Abuse and Addiction

MYTH 1: Overcoming addiction is a simply a matter of willpower. You can stop using drugs if you really want to. Prolonged exposure to drugs alters the brain in ways that result in powerful cravings and a compulsion to use. These brain changes make it extremely difficult to quit by sheer force of will.

MYTH 2: Addiction is a disease; there’s nothing you can do about it. Most experts agree that addiction is a brain disease, but that doesn’t mean you’re a helpless victim. The brain changes associated with addiction can be treated and reversed through therapy, medication, exercise, and other treatments.

MYTH 3: Addicts have to hit rock bottom before they can get better. Recovery can begin at any point in the addiction process—and the earlier, the better. The longer drug abuse continues, the stronger the addiction becomes and the harder it is to treat. Don’t wait to intervene until the addict has lost it all.

MYTH 4: You can’t force someone into treatment; they have to want help. Treatment doesn’t have to be voluntary to be successful. People who are pressured into treatment by their family, employer, or the legal system are just as likely to benefit as those who choose to enter treatment on their own. As they sober up and their thinking clears, many formerly resistant addicts decide they want to change.

MYTH 5: Treatment didn’t work before, so there’s no point trying again. Recovery from drug addiction is a long process that often involves setbacks. Relapse doesn’t mean that treatment has failed or that you’re a lost cause. Rather, it’s a signal to get back on track, either by going back to treatment or adjusting the treatment approach.

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