The Psychoactive Substances Act has today become law, making the sale of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) illegal. John Devitt, chief executive of North-East based substance misuse service Counted4, discusses the issue of ‘legal highs’, the damage they are doing and how more education is needed on the harm that they can cause

NEW PSYCHOACTIVE substances er more commonly known as ‘legal highs’. The very term creates the impression that these drugs are ‘legal’ and are therefore assumed by many to have a level of ‘quality control’. Sadly the reality is that so-called legal highs were in fact only ‘legal’ because they had not been made ‘illegal’ yet.

Even with new legislation coming into effect today, many people are not fully aware of the dangers of NPS and the damage that they can cause. In 2013 there were 60 deaths involving NPS reported in England and Wales. This was a 15 per cent rise from the year before and it is likely to rise further.

One of the main issues is the lack of quality control across NPS and the fact that there is no standardisation around these new substances. With many of the traditional illegal drugs, such as heroin and cocaine, medical services have vast experience in managing associated problems – such as overdose etc. – but with NPS there is no way of knowing what active ingredients you are dealing with, as there are such wide variations and concentrations of drugs even within the same batch.

In terms of risk, it is worth considering that any drug developed for human consumption has to go through stringent approval processes. This can take up to 35 years for a molecule to be developed and tested before it is considered safe for human consumption. Even with this stringent approval process there are cases where reactions to drugs and side-effects only become known after years of use.

By contrast, NPS are developed with no testing whatsoever, and can be developed, produced and sold on the street within 24 hours. Quite often strength and quantities of active ingredients within the same batch are unknown, let alone adverse reactions, side-effects, and long-term effects on health. As with all illegal drugs the problem of huge variations of strength, even within the same batch, are significant and practically impossible to counter. To put this in context we have had reports that the legal high Spice can be up to 100 times as potent as cannabis. The risks are severe and made even worse when used in conjunction with alcohol.

At Counted4, we are seeing a huge increase in the use of NPS across the North East. Common NPS on the market such as, Spice, Vertex and Annihilation, are becoming as popular as mainstream illegal drugs within treatment populations. We are already seeing cases of addiction to these substances and this is only going to increase because they are so easily available, and are harder to screen for. It is also interesting to note that Spice has taken over Subutex as the currency in prisons, and is seen as a root cause of an increase in violent incidents.

So what can be done?

The new Psychoactive Substances Act comes into effect today across England and Wales, and while legislation is essential to remove NPS from the High Street it will not stop them being an issue. More governmental support will be needed to change attitudes and increase awareness within society of the impact that NPS can have.

The new Act is an encouraging start and very much needed to keep a limit on the supply of NPS, however there will be issues around enforcement. There are many household items (such as commercial detergent) that can be used to create drugs and both the police force and magistrates will require extensive training to be able to enforce the new law correctly.

There is an obvious question of how we can stop the increase of NPS (and other drugs) and the effects that they are having on society. At Counted4 we believe that it’s imperative that the next generation is educated about the dangers of NPS, something that is not happening enough at present. Children need to be educated on exactly what it is that they are putting in their body, while being given rational and practical advice and warned of the risks they are putting themselves under. As a first step there needs to be improved substance misuse education in schools and increased public awareness.

While schools have a statutory duty to promote pupil’s wellbeing, drug and substance misuse education are no longer compulsory. At a time where drug and alcohol misuse is increasing within young people, this is very worrying indeed. Although schools are required to teach Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PHSE) education, not all aspects of this are compulsory. Even when drug misuse is taught, it is often as a one off lesson, once a year, which is not sufficient. Children need to be educated regularly about the dangers of drugs to prevent misuse. Closer scrutiny is needed by Ofsted to ensure that all children are receiving the requisite level of education with regards to NPS. Ideally this would be part of a wider health and wellbeing programme where pupils are taught about not only drug misuse but alcohol and mental health issues as well.

Unfortunately, we live a society that uses drugs – always has done, and always will do. The so-called ‘war’ on drugs has failed and a radical and sensible approach is needed to address all associated issues from supply and demand, to treatment and support.

While we welcome the new legislation, we must put as much effort into raising awareness of the risks that NPS can pose, as enforcement. The legislation will help stop using the term ‘legal highs’, for the reasons listed above, but for us to really address these issues we should perhaps start with being realistic about how our society responds to drugs and what can be achieved through legislation, without proper education and treatment.