bbc.co.uk

Watched this interesting documentary with George Lamb about the legal high industry, their makeup and their effects (long term and short term).

Thought I'd share it with you guys. My own couple of experiences with legal highs (pills) were a number of years ago and both were pretty bad, ending with me being sick.

I imagine things have moved on. Manufacturers of them realising that if they change the chemical make up of an illegal drug by even one molecule effectively makes them legal.

There is an interesting interview with a drug analyst who said that because no one knows the long term effects of these new legal highs, he would be happier if people took drugs like MDMA because at least there is 20 years research on this.

A section on psychonauts was interesting too.

What are people's views and experiences in this area?

yeah i just watched it on bbc iplayer.

It disturbs me that by adding 'Not fit for human consumption' they are not only escaping the need to test these products to see if they are safe, but also protecting themselves from prosecution should someone be harmed or die from taking them.

it shit me up for a bit, then i just ordered some more!

yeh i watched this... the guy from the university said it would be safer to take ilegal rather than legal how bad is that

sayin that though iv had some real rough rides on those legal things :(

yep, I had sweating, heart palpitations and the afore mentioned being sick. There are so many 'brands' out there tho it is pretty confusing. Is it a lottery or is the a way of 'testing' them?

I had the same and cramps all down my left arm and stomach

it is pretty confusing as like you say so many different ones out there...... and like the programme said most of them dont even have wat is in them wrote on the back of the packs or anything

and also the fact that due to these supid bloody things being brought onto the market ilegal stuff is now gettin craper n craper cos people think they can use bzp in the ilegal stuff now :(

yep n they said bzp was used originally in NZ to de-worm cattle!!!! thats not a nice thought!!!

almost thought of buying legals to as illegals are so crap at mo but now having second thoughts on it :S

if you do decide on buying legal hun do becareful with them...... some of them make people ill wereas some people are fine on the same ones.....

buy yeh ilegals are just as nasty these days :(

Personally I'd avoid anything with BZP in it. If you look closely on websites/packaging you should be able to get an idea of what's in them. Then check out the ingredients on Erowid or a similar site.

That's what I did when I decided to try Purple Ohms, which are supposed to be like Mushies. Had a great time on them but boy did I fee SHIT the next day. Way way worse than any other "comedown" i've experienced.

If you can't find out what's in them then don't take them. Full stop.

Bloody good programme and very upfront for the beeb.

Thought it was random as seeing someone smoking salvia on TV!!!

I'm finding it slightly odd that people are saying check the ingrediants. Presumably you ask any dealer you buy pills from or any drug for that matter what's in it before you take it ? My guess is you prob dont. The comment that "BZP was used to work cattle that's not a nice thought" Well is snorting Ketamin a drug that is basically an anestetic any better ?

All drugs, legal or otherwise will react differently person to person. eg I cant take asprin it upsets my stomach... Other people have no problem with it... Taking all drugs has an element of risk in it. If you have any doubts then dont take them.

Incidently, BZP is now pretty much outlawed in most countries.. Many legal highs no longer have it in. My advice is if your going to do it dont do it alone. Let your friends know exactly what you have taken and how much so IF you are ill they can advise medical staff what you have taken. The time saved knowing that is what could save your life. Drink plenty of water, sit down and chill out every hour or so for 10 mins.

Peace nd Love.

Keep the packaging too. For medical purposes and… If you get caught in a club it could be embarrassing.

Stay away from BZP....nasty nasty stuff!!!!
But there are some pretty good legals out there where the effects are pretty good!!!
Google legal highs on internet and you will get some good imformative sites come up that will help you find something ideal. Havefun guys and stay safe!!!! :-) xx

If I could I would.

And I use testing kits so i guess you could say that i check the ingerdients yeah!!

I have taken legals for 2 and a half years, trying different ones to find ones that are good for me. I find them perfect, I have a brilliant night and once I finally get to sleep I wake up the next day without a comedown and with the munchies big time. Perhaps the damage could be long term but I also drink and smoke so I'm aware of the risks.

Yes there is no research on them but 20 years ago there was none on mdma. I bet the older generation were also told that the pills they were taking could give them cancer, leprosy and blow out their mind by the time they are 30.

The scientist who created bzp said he created an SAFER not SAFE alternative to the illegal drugs everyone was doing and dying from. Anyone who thinks they are safe just because they are legal needs their heads testing. Cigarettes, alcohol and caffeine have all proven to be dangerous over the long term but these are still legal.

I feel very strongly bout this. They could do proper research into it and this could be the way to get rid of all the dirty mixed up pills going about. It is the same ingredients all the time, hospital staff could be made aware of how they work etc and it would be easier to prevent overdoses. I do however feel shops should be tightening up and making sure they only sell to 18+.

It was funny watching george lamb do salvia 5x. the fanny.

Cigarettes and alcohol are proven killers, they are legal because governments in this country in particular make vast sums of money in taxation.

In Japan recently ecstasy became legal because the Japanese government accepted the fact that more people die from alcohol related deaths than ecstasy use.

My view is this. IF the UK goverment recognised the same they could legally manufacture or licence one of the drug comapnies to do so and ensure that what people do buy is a safe alternative to what is on the market at this time. Risk wise there will always be someone who overdoses but the larger majority will be fine. People have overdosed on paracetamol in the past and that hasn't been banned. What they did do was put an antidote in it to stop that happening.

yeah it was a really good programme, very eye opening, somebody offered me some of that "methadrone" a few weeks back (the stuff the psychonaught was testing) apparently its pretty good stuff but i didnt try it.

i had a few legal highs at the bulldog bash last year (hi-benas, they come in a purple tub like a ribena carton) and i must say i was wasted beyond belief. though that was on the saturday night after spending thursday and friday on illegals.

i think legals are good in a way but with so many brands and types around these days its hard to know what your getting. if im honest after watching the programme i will only be doing illegals from now on...apart from if somebody offers me a hi-bena. lol

great programme from the beeb.