What you need to know about injecting legal highs, in 60 seconds
07 August 2014
The following article is based on Fast Forward staff notes taken on 11th July 2014 at a Scottish Drugs Forum seminar in Edinburgh.
New Psychoactive Substances (NPS, or ‘Legal Highs’) are now being injected, according to service providers.
However, injecting is not widespread. Currently, areas in Scotland where services are seeing it most are the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian.
Injecting stimulant-type NPS appears to be the most popular, and there are many issues that can affect the user. Side effects such as mental health issues, self-harm, suicidal thoughts and psychosis can be more prevalent as the drugs can be particularly potent.
Risks
Injecting NPS carries many risks such as skin and tissue irritation and vasoconstriction (narrowing of blood vessels). Abscesses and blistering can also appear at the injection site. There is also risk of disease and HIV if needles are shared.
There are issues around use during pregnancy and different brands contain different mixes of chemicals, making dosage a problem.
Issues with NPS include the fact that very little or no information on dosage is available on the packet. Marked ‘not for human consumption’ they are often labelled as bath salts or plant food and contain little or no ingredient lists either. The user will have no idea what effect it will have on them and even if a friend has tried it there is no guarantee that the effects will be the same.
Find out more
For a briefing on injecting NPS, the Scottish Drugs Forum have created this excellent and easy-to-read resource, downloadable from the bottom of the page here
In order to make an informed, educated choice about any type of drug, for up to date information go to CREW and/or Know the Score at the following addresses: