One in five 'legal highs' contain illegal substances - but nearly half of ecstasy tablets don't have any MDMA

News

One in five 'legal highs' contain illegal substances - but nearly half of ecstasy tablets don't have any MDMA

4 February 2016

By Mark Smith

One in five “legal highs” sent for testing in Wales last year were found to contain illegal substances, a new report has revealed.

The Welsh Emerging Drugs and Identification of Novel Substances Project (WEDINOS) annual report revealed that 21% of drugs believed to be legal were found to contain a “controlled compound”. However nearly half of tablets or granules sold as ecstasy, 46%, did not contain any MDMA. The report also concluded that many of the packaged “branded” products available in shops and via the internet contained more than one drug.

In addition, the study found that of the 76 MDMA/ecstasy samples submitted for testing, nearly half did not contain any MDMA.

Josie Smith, programme and national lead for Substance Misuse at Public Health Wales, said: “These findings provide stark evidence that people can never be sure of what is in so-called ‘legal highs’ - which we call ‘new psychoactive substances’. “More than one-in-five of the samples submitted to us were found to contain substances that are in fact illegal, so consumers of these substances can never be sure that they are not breaking the law. “In addition, and most importantly, they are at risk of experiencing a range of adverse physical, psychological and other harms". “New psychoactive substances coming onto the market in Wales and across Europe pose a number of threats, with users at risk of acute harms which are well evidenced in this report. The long-term risks associated with these drugs are currently unknown. “It’s important we provide accurate analysis along with pragmatic harm reduction information for users and those considering use so they’re aware of all the risks.”

WEDINOS is a pioneering project which provides accurate information and pragmatic harm reduction advice on unknown or unidentified drugs in Wales. The programme analysed 1,350 psychoactive drug samples analysed in 2014-15 – an increase of 25% on the previous year. The samples were submitted anonymously by individuals and by organisations including youth and substance misuse services, nightclubs and bars, mental health community teams, the ambulance service and police. The average age for all mind-altering/psychoactive sample providers was 36, but ranged from 14 to 68 years old.

Click here to read the full article.

Keep up-to-date with drug policy developments by subscribing to the IDPC Monthly Alert.

Click here to read the full report in English, available in our publication section.

Thumbnail: Wikipedia