Legal highs – current state and guidelines for the future
Journal Title: Medycyna Ogólna i Nauki o Zdrowiu - Year 2011, Vol 17, Issue 4
Abstract
Legal highs (or smarts, designer drugs, research chemicals) pose an important social and health issue, concerning mainly the young population aged 15-24. Many and varied chemical compounds which belong to many different chemical groups have been detected in the composition of legal highs. Although these compounds differ with respect to active substances, they cause similar effects on the human body. Legal highs are defined briefly as substances manufactured to imitate the effects of illegal narcotics. There are many different types of designer drugs in many different forms. The most common routes of intake are through inhalation (smoking blends) or snorting intranasally (insufflation), or by oral ingestion. The desired effects of legal highs intake include euphoria, stimulation and hallucinations. Although, almost all legal highs have been recently delegalized, there is still little evidence, if any, about their toxicity, psychological and/or behavioral effects on humans. The presented report summarises data about the accessibility and distribution pattern of legal highs, as well as the motivation and attitudes of youngsters towards the issue of legal highs. It also analyses the health risk of mephedrone according to users reports.
Authors and Affiliations
Lucyna Kapka-Skrzypczak, Małgorzata Cyranka, Piotr Kulpa, Maciej Skrzypczak, Andrzej Wojtyła
Keywords
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