10/09/2013

They have names like Silver Bullet, Salvia, Green Rolex, Black Mamba and Benzo Fury. They’re freely available on the internet and on our high streets and last year 52 people across the UK died after taking them.

According to ‘No Quick Fix’ a report published last week by the UK government’s Centre for Social Justice, so-called ‘legal highs’ now outnumber controlled recreational drugs. And as the report labels Britain the addictions capital of Europe it’s an issue which is challenging not only drug support agencies and healthcare workers but also the government as it tries to outlaw these substances and scientists as they investigate their medical and psychological effects.

In this week’s Science Cafe, as a major international conference on legal highs comes to Swansea Adam talks to the organisers and other scientists involved in the conference about the effects and dangers of these drugs and the biology and psychology of drug addiction.