The fact is, since time immemorial, human beings have been looking for ways to alter their consciousness, and mind altering substances have been used in spiritual and shamanic ceremonies ever since man first came down from the trees and started walking on two legs. Why should our ingrained primal heritage be repressed purely because we now live in condos rather than caves? It won’t be, and many people seek to alter their consciousness by the socially acceptable and legal drug, alcohol. Even the uber-health conscious, who would never take anything into their system, may become addicted to a natural high that is produced by the brain when we exercise. In mountainous areas, where the air is thin, one who is not used to the high levels of oxygen may get high from a simple walk. Should we therefore ban alcohol, exercise and holidays in the Pyrenees?

The answer is, of course not. So why do the government and media immediately begin to sweat as soon as the words ‘legal high’ come within earshot? In recent times there have been some tragic deaths connected to the use of various legal highs. Notice the use of the words ‘connected to.’ Not ‘caused by.’ ‘Connected to.’ Very different connotations although the government seems to fail to make the distinction.  Take mephedrone, for example. A person died following taking mephedrone and the media jumped on this like flies, widely reporting that a young life was claimed by a legal drug. However, toxicology tests reported that they actually died due to “cardiac arrest following broncho-pneumonia which resulted from streptococcal A infection.” No mention of mephedrone or even any kind of drug taking at all.

No-one is saying that these deaths are not tragic, and in some cases not unavoidable, but it is wrong to blame legal highs when there is no conclusive proof that they were the cause. It would be impossible to stop people experimenting with drugs, and as legal highs get banned new ones with different formulas will follow. Surely a better solution would be to fully and properly research the effects of ones that are currently available without the scare-mongering and scape-goating that currently takes place, and allow us, as human beings, the right to alter our own consciousness as we see fit.

Personally, I think that all drugs should definitely be legalised. Yep – crack cocaine, heroin, the lot. I’m not suggesting that everyone should try these drugs, but as Richard Brunstrom points out, PROHIBITION DOES NOT WORK! What we need is an education system that teaches the grave dangers of hard drugs and how to experiment with softer drugs as safely as possible. The fact is that people will always take drugs. So as a nation we need to take responsibility for this. Should we allow the pockets of criminals to be lined with cash from recreational drug users? And should we watch drug addicts disappear into homelessness and further crime simply because their addictions are a crime and therefore they can’t get help? (Anyone ever noticed that alcoholics don’t often end up having to steal to feed their habit? Could this be because their problem is accepted as being within the law and help is more readily available for them?)

Richard Brunstrom says that more than half of recorded crime in the UK is drugs-related. And apparently drug use contributes to some £20 billion of damage to this country every year. So if we had that money to put towards helping people instead of charging them, what a difference that could make to our society’s happiness.

Currently, our country is divided into many cultures. People in just about every culture take drugs on one level or another. Upper class businessmen are known to have heroin addictions as well as working class people. The difference is, they can sustain their habits. What happens is, people from less wealthy backgrounds get hooked on a drug and then find that they can’t pay for their intake. They can’t get help from their immediate society because they would have to admit to a serious crime, so they end up turning to bigger crime in order to support their habits. Eventually, this leads to loss of family, friends and home and their lives become a never-ending cycle of taking the drug and finding the money to pay for it.

There are people in society who have never been part of the drugs culture and have a very narrow view of drug use. This further alienates people with drug problems, because they are treated as sub-citizens. If decent and practical education was introduced, there would be less prejudice and more opportunity for drug users to seek help if they need it.

Drug rehabilitation centres are being closed down right, left and centre due to lack of funding. The amount of money this country could save if it stopped persecuting recreational users and addicts would pay for successful rehabilitation programmes.

I wish this government would give itself a kick up the arse and admit that our country’s drugs policies are archaic and it’s time we set and example rather than jumping on the back of US legislation, which we all know is totally corrupt anyway.

Good on you Mr Brunstrom. I salute you!

Related articles:

T&L Drug Legalization – American website, claiming that all drugs are a major threat to the world.

Legalise Drugs.co.uk – Someone talking sense – just because you know that drugs should be legalised, this does not necessarily mean you support drug-taking.

Eddie Elison’s Drug Legalisation Site

Gargaro.com – Against drug legalization.

Kratom is a tall leafy tree that grows in tropical climates, mainly in Thailand and South East Asia. It is usually between 3 and 15 metres tall. Kratom’s botanical name is Mitragyna speciosa and it is part of the Rubiaciae family (the same family as coffee trees).

Kratom has stimulating properties and has been used for a long time by humans as an opiate substitute. However, unlike opium, it can have an amphetamine-like effect on the user. Users in its native environment tend to chew on fresh Kratom leaves. Leaves can also be crushed or powdered and added to liquid like tea. Kratom is occasionally smoked, but has no stronger effect if taken in this way. It is generally the working class that choose Kratom as a habitual drug.

Kratom is legal to sell in the UK. It can be bought in extract form and mixed with liquid. Kratom should always be taken on an empty stomach.

BZP products were all the rage in the UK for several months. The most popular brands included Funk Pills, London Underground and PEP Pills. It started in New Zealand where manufacturing party pills containing the synthetic ingredient BZP was legal and safe. Quickly, news of this latest legal high spread to the UK and Europe and headshops began to supply their customers with BZP products. More…Many happy shoppers enjoyed their weekends that little bit more, buying legal, clean products over the counter, without fear of being branded criminals and with the ability to read the exact contents of their chosen pills.

BZP party pills were sold under the banner of “Drug Harm Minimisation Solutions”. The idea was to allow people to make informed decisions about what they were taking, within the confines of the law and with straightforward dosage instructions and warnings for all users. Those who tried them welcomed this change. No longer did they have to conceal their recreational choices and, with open discussion of ingredients and effects, many users felt that this new wave of legal highs dispelled the negative stigma attached to the party scene.

The fact is, if you buy illegal drugs, you are buying into a massive criminal world, associated with all manner of things that your average night-clubber wouldn’t know or want to know about. And it’s not a nice feeling for people who are otherwise considered no danger to others to be sneaking around, carrying dodgy substances and worrying they might get caught for wanting to boost their evening and experiment with their own minds. The concept of separating the party scene from the criminal scene is appealing on many levels. The harmfulness of drugs is mainly due to their being forced underground and therefore anyone wishing to try out a substance is automatically introduced to criminality. Also, it will greatly undermine the illegal market for drugs if people can buy them above board. Add the fact that legal drugs could mean better education for youngsters and you’ve got a pretty good case for legal highs. For example, some parents may be reluctant to tell their children that they have experimented with drugs because they don’t want to set a bad example. But if the drugs they have tried are legal, at least they won’t be condoning crime. And let’s face it, most kids will try drugs at some stage, so surely it’s better to be able to talk about then.

Back to BZP:

Unfortunately, when the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) heard about the introduction of BZP to the legal highs market, they ruled that no-one could manufacture BZP in the UK without a license. Some grey area is left regarding the selling of BZP in the UK that has been manufactured elsewhere. But on the whole, BZP is no longer available to buy here.

Of course, the MHRA has a job to do and it doesn’t involve promoting recreational drug use. In that respect, one can’t argue over their decision. However, this issue does highlight the problem of illegal drug classification in the UK. More and more, people are forming the opinion that if drugs were legalised, at least users would be able to take them safely, without contributing to a world of organised crime and with plenty of information to educate themselves. Human beings are naturally curious as to how they can alter their minds and see things from different perspectives. Experimenting with drugs will never cease. Yes, there will always be a minority of people who abuse their availability due to personal problems or addictive dispositions. That will never change either. At least we can give those who only wish to explore the parameters of their own minds the opportunity to do so with the freedom of knowledge and legality.

Thankfully, for those who are lamenting the departure of BZP from the UK market, there are now many legal alternatives with very favourable reports from users. Ingredients vary. Some are synthetic and some are completely herbal. Buyers are happy once again to be able to buy over the counter, and on the right side of the law.

Related Articles:

Click on these links to view BZP products before they were removed from the UK market. Product ingredients also have links to enable the reader to further their personal research.

Funk Pills
London Underground
PEP Pills

Party Pills – An anti-legal highs article by the National Collaborating Centre for Drug Prevention.

BZP & TFMPP Summary – How these ingredients work and what effects they have.