If you feel unwell from the use of NPS, call 111 and make sure you tell them exactly what you have taken.
Drugs are used for many reasons. Some are used by hospitals and doctors to help people who are ill as they can have a positive impact and make people better.
There are also drugs in things we use everyday such as coffee, alcohol and cigarettes. These all affect how we feel.
There are also many drugs that are classed by law as illegal. This is because they can have a bad affect on us, making us ill and also addicted, meaning it can make it difficult for us to stop using them.
Cannabis
Cannabis is the most widely used illegal drug in Britain. Made from parts of the cannabis plant, it's a naturally occurring drug. It can give you a chilled out feeling or tiredness and can also be a mild hallucinogen meaning that you may see objects and reality in a distorted way and may even hallucinate.
Psychoactive Substances (NPS) formerly known as Legal Highs.
Harley’ story is a true account of a 15-year old boy who took illegal drugs and experienced devastating consequences. He talks candidly about his struggles to get his life back to some sort of normality after suffering a near fatal stroke.
Please don't take legal highs or NPS that are on the whole designed to be taken by animals or even plants!
- Be aware that once you start a "trip" you cannot stop it.
- The immediate effects of some drugs can last for 8-10 hours.
- Longer term effects such as anxiety and paranoia can last for weeks, you may also suffer flashbacks weeks after taking them.
- Dehydration can result from taking some drugs. Rehydrate slowly by slowly sipping water.
It really isn't worth the risk
- Taking legal high drugs if you suffer from any mental health issue, including depression and anxiety can be damaging and make your problems worse.
- Although many products available in Head Shops are advertised as "natural" or "herbal" highs, a large number are not purely herbal and contain other elements that can be damaging to human health.
- It is advisable NOT to mix any legal high drug with either alcohol or any other substance. Mixing increases risk and this can lead to problem behaviours, aggression, vulnerability, unplanned and regretted sex, significant intoxication leading to collapse and in some cases death.
- The time it takes for a drug to take effect can vary. Taking another dose because you think the drug is not working can be dangerous and result in an overdose or can trigger mental health problems.
The law
Cannabis
- Police will confiscate Cannabis if it is found on you. You can be arrested. What the police will do depends on how old you are and the circumstances involved.
- If you're under 18, you could get a caution and your parent or guardian will also be contacted. If you are blatantly smoking in public, you are more likely to be arrested by police.
- If you're under 18, the second time you get caught you're likely to get a conditional caution and be referred to a Youth Offending Team.
- Regardless of how old you are, if you're caught with cannabis for a third time it's likely you will be arrested.
- The maximum penalty for possession is five years in prison plus an unlimited fine.
New Psychoactive Substances (formerly known as legal highs)
Under the Medicines Act these substances are ILLEGAL and they can cause serious harm to you
Visit Talk to Frank for details on the law for other drugs