The website FRANK states that legal highs –
‘Just the fact that someone claims that a substance is “legal” doesn’t mean that it’s safe or legal . . . ‘Legal highs’ often contain more than one chemical, or not the same ingredients in samples of a same brand. So you cannot rely on a brand of ‘legal high’ that you or someone you know have used to be safe or legal because the actual contents can vary greatly. Basically, you can’t really be sure of what’s in a ‘legal high’ that you’ve bought, or been given, or what effect it’s likely to have on you or your friends’
Legal highs are dangerous – As stated, the fact that these substances are legal is a joke within itself. Plastered with the label ‘unfit for human consumption’, these drugs are often substitute stimulants of illegal drugs such as cocaine, weed and ecstasy.
In 2012, fifty-two people died from legal highs in England and Wales. Deaths are on the rise, where in Scotland alone the death toll rose from 47 deaths in 2012, to 113 in 2013. These figures are terrifying, and a wake up call to the reality’s of these drugs.
In May of this year; I lost a friend of mine to legal highs. I was not aware that you could die from taking legal highs, and only when I looked into the depths of the subject, did it dawn on me that there was a whole other dark and scary reality for so many people – and that it was so accessible by all. Legal highs can be bought on practically every high street. At a time where many shops are closing down and our streets are seemingly littered with empty windows and ‘To Let’ signs, one branch is still holding strong. There are often more than one, even in small towns and each one offers the same enticing thrills – Drugs, that are legal.
I began speaking to many of my close friends about legal highs, and the more I spoke to people, the more it became clear that this is not only a serious issue, but that it has affected more people than you could imagine. Too many people.
So many had believed that because these substances were legal that they were absolutely safe to take and many had had no idea that they would be affected by the drugs in the way they had.
One girl I spoke to stated:
‘I took a legal high that stated it would give me a similar affect as ecstasy. I thought it was the safer option – I stopped breathing. My friends thought I was dead’
This is when I realised that actually,there is no where near enough information out there for people to fully understand the dangers and risks that come hand in hand with these drugs, and there needs to be more. ASAP. Too many people have died, and too many people are going to continue dying.
I am in the process of creating a feature length documentary concerning the dangers of legal highs. Many strong and brave people have stepped forward to volunteer their time and stories to raise awareness and help others from making the same mistakes.
Not only are we creating a feature length documentary that we are pitching to the BBC and entering to film festivals across the world, but we are also creating a 5 minute film with the highlights and hard hitting facts; this shall be burnt to DVD and sent to schools across the country in an aim to raise as much awareness as possible.
And this is where we need your help.
Our campaign hasn’t gained much recognition nor help, and we need it, desperately. We ourselves are not being paid to create this, but are too volunteering our time to try and create this documentary and make it a success.
If you could please check out our campaign, the perks, and possibly share it with your family and friends, it would mean the world to us.
Help us save lives.
Thank you.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/legal-highs-the-sobering-truth/x/6042011
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