Dancing in a Minefield

Professor Fabrizio Schifano of the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths issued that chilling warning to the users of legal highs. Professor Schifano and his team at St. George’s, University of London, have been researching reports submitted to the University by Coroners. In 2009 there were reports of 12 deaths linked to the various synthetic substances described as legal highs; by 2012, this figure had risen to 97, and in two-thirds of those cases, the meaning was the direct cause of death. Even these figures may under-estimate the accurate scale of the situation and do not include the instances of death caused by accidents suffered by users while under the influence of these substances.

The report warns that many legal highs have undergone no human testing, and the damage they do is “virtually unknown”. The speed with which new drugs appear and the use of the internet as a means of supply makes the problem even more challenging to control. There has not been sufficient time to examine the long-term effects of these substances, but even in the short term, we at The Providence Project have seen symptoms among users similar to those we have seen in class A and B drugs. Paranoia, anxiety, hallucinations as well as acute depression and severe mood swings are among the results we have seen and in many cases the effects become progressively worse with continuing use of the same substance or the use of different meanings at the same time.

Here, at The Providence Projects, we are aware that it is essential to keep abreast of the new addictive dangers that face the young in particular. We are continually developing our treatment programmes to keep pace. Our therapeutic staff are constantly updating their skills in order to offer care of the highest order to the vulnerable people in our care. We realise that treatment cannot be carried out on a “one size fits all” basis, mainly as many treatment models were designed before these types of substances, and this user demographic was a problem. We are proud of our proven programmes and the highly skilled staff that administer them, and one of our counsellors is available to talk to you if you feel that someone in your family is affected or at risk of being affected by using legal highs or synthetic substances.