:00:07. > :00:12.language. Tonight, we investigate legal highs.
:00:12. > :00:17.All we can do is keep an eye on things that will become a problem.
:00:17. > :00:22.We meet the users. There will always be a replacement. It has got
:00:23. > :00:27.to be the maddest thing I have taken. It was horrible. We go under
:00:28. > :00:34.cover. And we show the disturbing effects
:00:34. > :00:40.of some of these legal drugs. will give a strong warning to
:00:40. > :00:45.everyone, do not take them. Can I ask you are a couple of questions
:00:45. > :00:55.about a product you sold to a 17- year-old girl? A generation of
:00:55. > :01:01.
:01:01. > :01:06.young people are being sold a lie. Craig Mahoney is celebrating his
:01:07. > :01:12.26th birthday at his flat in Cardiff. Craig and his friends have
:01:12. > :01:16.bought a product called Salvia. take it and then you feel different.
:01:16. > :01:22.Your head feels really light and all of a sudden, it just hits you.
:01:23. > :01:27.This is a powerful drug, derived from a Mexican plant. It is illegal,
:01:27. > :01:33.available to buy on the high street but it is not for human consumption.
:01:33. > :01:36.I sweat a lot. I am just wet. You do it and then whatever you see,
:01:37. > :01:41.you will trek, it will last a couple of minutes. It could be
:01:41. > :01:46.anything. That happens and then you get brought back into the room.
:01:46. > :01:52.Your head gets screwed back on. What is going on? Sometimes you can
:01:52. > :01:58.get a bad trip or a good trip. The bad ones, you panic and some people
:01:58. > :02:02.run out of the room. If I am screaming, I square right -- I
:02:02. > :02:12.swear I will do it again. You have done it again and I am going to
:02:12. > :02:14.
:02:14. > :02:18.fucking kill you. Happy? Have you got the sweats again? Stopped
:02:18. > :02:28.talking to me. Get away from me while I take drugs. Someone taking
:02:28. > :02:34.out of the room. Legal highs can be heard will or plant product. They
:02:34. > :02:36.can be chemical compounds, a liquid or even a gas. They are often
:02:36. > :02:46.marketed as alternatives to classified drugs. More are
:02:46. > :02:50.available than ever before. And they are getting stronger. 20-year-
:02:50. > :02:55.old Ashley Pook is a student in Cardiff, a keen athlete, she trains
:02:55. > :03:02.for triathlon is. She keeps herself fit but she also experiments with
:03:02. > :03:06.some drugs. Ashley and her friend Hannah Meadows wanted to try a
:03:06. > :03:13.legal high for a night out. In February, they went on line to get
:03:13. > :03:16.drugs delivered to their door. was one of the most expensive. We
:03:16. > :03:25.thought it was like that for a reason. It was the most popular, it
:03:25. > :03:31.was sold out. It had good reviews. We watched that Daioni YouTube. He
:03:32. > :03:34.looked like he was really enjoying it. We thought, we have to get it.
:03:34. > :03:41.It will be amazing. I went on to the website and I spent so much
:03:41. > :03:49.money. I spent �130. They said it was planned fooled and not for
:03:49. > :03:54.human consumption. It said, enjoy your party. It said a not to be
:03:54. > :03:59.consumed by humans. They have to say that. They bought their drugs
:03:59. > :04:05.online. But you can also get them on the High Street. In places known
:04:05. > :04:09.as head shops. These array few of the highs that you can buy in shops.
:04:09. > :04:13.And even if they are legal, some of them should certainly not be sold
:04:13. > :04:21.for human consumption. And if they are, then the person selling them
:04:21. > :04:27.is breaking the law. We have been told some shops are
:04:27. > :04:32.doing just that. A member of our team is going undercover. She is
:04:32. > :04:37.just 17. Too young to buy alcohol. But what could she get hold of on
:04:37. > :04:40.the High Street? She went to a number of shops, one of them was
:04:40. > :04:45.The Party Shop in Swansea. There were fancy-dress things in the
:04:45. > :04:55.window. In the small window, there was a gas mask. It had a bomb
:04:55. > :05:00.attached to the front of it. I went in and ask for Salvia. -- bomb
:05:00. > :05:04.attached to it. Salvia comes in different strengths. This man is
:05:04. > :05:11.the shop owner. Legally, he is allowed to Senate, but not for
:05:11. > :05:19.human consumption. A customer chips in. What do I do with it? But it in
:05:19. > :05:29.a pipe. Other shops ask my age or made it clear that they could not
:05:29. > :05:39.
:05:39. > :05:44.The owner should not be telling her how to consume Salvia. He pointed
:05:44. > :05:54.to a bong and then he brought one down. He said it was �5.99. And
:05:54. > :06:02.
:06:02. > :06:12.then he indicated where I should Our research has been just sold a
:06:12. > :06:21.
:06:21. > :06:26.bomb. She was made -- she made Drug workers are becoming more
:06:26. > :06:30.worried about the sale of legal highs which many people believe are
:06:30. > :06:36.all harmless. Alan Andrews is a former drug user and now runs a
:06:36. > :06:42.support service in Llanelli. It is becoming a bigger problem than
:06:42. > :06:49.illegal drugs because the message, the legal means safe, which it is
:06:49. > :06:55.not, and these drugs, some of them are stronger, more potent than the
:06:55. > :07:02.illegal drugs. And it is quite scary because there is a generation
:07:02. > :07:08.of young people who have been sold a lie that legal means safe. The
:07:08. > :07:15.police, their hands are tied because they are legal. But they
:07:15. > :07:20.are very potent. Last month, the monitoring centre which records
:07:20. > :07:27.drug use across Europe said new legal highs were appearing at an
:07:27. > :07:34.unprecedented pace. 41 new substances last year alone. Let's
:07:34. > :07:38.see what we can find online. Already, a heap of websites trying
:07:38. > :07:44.to sell me stuff. The amount of legal highs available
:07:44. > :07:49.to buy online it suggests a large number of people are using them.
:07:49. > :07:56.This one says legal ecstasy, whatever that is. Legal speed.
:07:56. > :07:59.I have also find a forum where people discuss the legal highs and
:07:59. > :08:04.share notes. It says it will not be around for
:08:04. > :08:09.long before it is banned. This guy snorted eight lines. A few people
:08:09. > :08:15.waiting for a few more reports before they try any of it.
:08:15. > :08:18.I found this one well Sky who takes the drugs and reviews the effects
:08:18. > :08:28.they are having on him in these videos -- videos he has posted on
:08:28. > :08:31.
:08:31. > :08:38.the internet. I am an adviser. I advise people what the best legal
:08:38. > :08:43.highs are to do and which ones are not. And now, you have got a bigger
:08:43. > :08:48.problem on your hands now. Because now you have got all these new
:08:48. > :08:54.chemicals out now and if you ban one, there will always be a
:08:54. > :08:58.replacement. I fucking love you, my friends! Legal highs are not a new
:08:58. > :09:03.problem but there are concerns that they are getting stronger. A few
:09:03. > :09:07.years ago, mephedrone, known as meow meow became the party drug of
:09:07. > :09:12.choice for many. Its effects were compared with speed and ecstasy but
:09:12. > :09:16.crucially, it was legal. It hit the headlines after being linked to way
:09:16. > :09:20.number of young deaths. availability, you can buy it off
:09:20. > :09:25.the internet. There are hundreds of websites. 19-year-old Eddie it
:09:25. > :09:31.lives in Cardiff. He is familiar with the drugs scene and meow meow.
:09:31. > :09:36.I have never known a drug to be so available. People were getting it
:09:37. > :09:44.sent in boxes to the halls. It was everywhere. Mephedrone was cheap,
:09:44. > :09:48.legal and a hit with clubbers. Elliott has used some illegal drugs
:09:48. > :09:58.and thought that legal highs were just a joke. Then he tried
:09:58. > :09:59.
:09:59. > :10:04.mephedrone. Two grams for a tenner. It is so potent. It was shocking.
:10:04. > :10:08.But as more people use mephedrone, stories began to emerge about the
:10:08. > :10:14.consequences of taking it. It wears off so quickly. But as soon as it
:10:14. > :10:18.wears off, you were constantly feeding for that next hit. I know a
:10:18. > :10:22.few people, I would not call them addicts but they do rely on this
:10:22. > :10:28.drug to have a good time. But for some users, there was more than
:10:28. > :10:32.just a comedown. 18-year-old Max Llewellyn from the Rhondda Valley
:10:32. > :10:37.was using mephedrone. In January last year, he killed himself. At
:10:37. > :10:42.his inquest, the coroner said mephedrone had a role in his death,
:10:42. > :10:47.describing the drug as evil. In April last year, it was banned and
:10:47. > :10:52.made a Class B drug. But Elliott knows people are still using it.
:10:52. > :10:55.There was a girl that said to me and a friend, her exact words were
:10:55. > :11:00.I never took drugs and then someone told me this was illegal so I
:11:00. > :11:06.sniffed it. And now we see that girl every week, of her box in
:11:06. > :11:12.clubs. Since the drug has been banned, police in Wales have made
:11:12. > :11:19.more than 100 arrests. This man was prosecuted but under -- undeterred,
:11:19. > :11:27.he continues to take mephedrone. He asked us not to identify him.
:11:27. > :11:34.stop if need be. But for now, it is not a hard thing, it does not
:11:34. > :11:44.control my life. I still work. A can have fun. I can still go to my
:11:44. > :11:46.
:11:46. > :11:50.house and speak to my mother. It is not out of control. I am a man with
:11:50. > :11:59.a plan. I go out and do whatever happens. It is something to do.
:11:59. > :12:04.Something for the weekend. authorities have also considered
:12:04. > :12:10.banning Salvia but decided against it. John Ramsey sits on a working
:12:10. > :12:12.group which reports to the UK government's drugs Advisory Council.
:12:12. > :12:18.The Advisory Council on misuse of drugs has considered Salvia and I
:12:18. > :12:22.think it probably will consider it again. The issue really is whether
:12:22. > :12:26.we ban everything as soon as we see it. And there are just so many
:12:26. > :12:29.things to consider that I think the general view is Salvia at the
:12:29. > :12:38.moment does not constitute a sufficient problem to warrant
:12:38. > :12:44.control. Salvia has been dubbed the YouTube drug because of the number
:12:44. > :12:50.of people posting videos showing its effect. This is what happened
:12:50. > :12:54.when 36-year-old Mark Hopkins took Salvia for the first time. We
:12:54. > :12:57.wanted to speak to him about his experience. We found him and his
:12:57. > :13:02.friend Neville birth -- Neville Braithwaite of the Gurnos estate in
:13:02. > :13:06.Merthyr. He did not know what was going on. He was trying to get out
:13:06. > :13:11.of the house but we did not want him to come outside in case he
:13:11. > :13:19.heard himself. He thought we were going to beat him up. I would not
:13:19. > :13:28.do it again. I would not. I would not recommend anyone else doing it.
:13:28. > :13:35.I would rather go out and buy something else. At that time, I did
:13:35. > :13:40.feel insecure. Neville Braithwaite is also filmed having taken Salvia.
:13:40. > :13:44.That has got to be the maddest thing I have taken, probably. I
:13:44. > :13:47.have tried magic mushrooms and acid and out of everything that has
:13:47. > :13:51.smashed my head, it has got to be that, Salvia. I do not think I
:13:51. > :13:57.would want another goal. John Ramsey tests thousands of drugs
:13:57. > :14:01.every year. Salvia is quite an unpleasant drugs. It is a very
:14:01. > :14:08.potent, powerful Huse -- hallucinogenic. It has powerful
:14:08. > :14:11.effects that come on quickly and wrecked -- run off fairly quickly.
:14:11. > :14:21.We are not overly concerned about it because very few people take it
:14:21. > :14:22.
:14:22. > :14:32.I don't think I will ever try it again. You do not know what is
:14:32. > :14:35.
:14:35. > :14:40.going on. You cannot control it. not take it. It is not nice at all.
:14:40. > :14:46.Sao we're was not banned. Experts thought it so strong, it would not
:14:46. > :14:56.be regularly used. Having been sold a bona, our research is going back
:14:56. > :14:59.
:14:59. > :15:09.to the party shocked to see how she would be sold the drug. I know
:15:09. > :15:19.
:15:19. > :15:28.friends of mine who have smoked Salvia. If you were really careful,
:15:28. > :15:37.it is pleasant. So it defied by that -- so if I buy that? I do not
:15:37. > :15:46.know. She should not be selling Salvia too aware researcher when it
:15:46. > :15:53.is clear she was intending to consume it. Neville and Mark had
:15:53. > :16:03.times 10 strength. She has just been sold time 60. A few minutes
:16:03. > :16:13.later she returns and is sold a pipe. This is the cheapest one.
:16:13. > :16:15.
:16:15. > :16:25.�3.99. I will take the silver won. What do why do with it? You need
:16:25. > :16:30.
:16:30. > :16:37.these with it as well. That 50p. -- that is 50p. Thank you. So go away
:16:37. > :16:42.researcher has the Salvia. That equipment she needs to use it as
:16:42. > :16:49.well. In selling it to her for human consumption, they have broken
:16:49. > :16:59.the law. We contacted the owner of the shop. He did not want to be
:16:59. > :17:15.
:17:15. > :17:21.interviewed, but in a statement he Craig Mahoney, the party goes on.
:17:21. > :17:29.had two bad trips today. This is really strong. Craig has a full-
:17:29. > :17:32.time job, but when off duty, he occasionally chooses to take Salvia.
:17:32. > :17:42.If you have a bad trip, it scares people and they say they will not
:17:42. > :17:44.
:17:44. > :17:51.do it again. Other people, they love it. Sow fear can be
:17:51. > :18:01.unpredictable. Craig's brother learns no two trips are the same.
:18:01. > :18:04.
:18:04. > :18:10.This is fucking meet up! -- me up! The air are concerns it can cause
:18:10. > :18:15.psychotic episodes. Do you think they could be risks? Should I be
:18:15. > :18:23.taking this? If it is legal and it is in the shop, it can't do
:18:23. > :18:33.anything to harm you. Do you see what I mean? One minute it is
:18:33. > :18:39.
:18:39. > :18:47.really intense. I feel like I cannot get out of this. Craig
:18:47. > :18:57.bought his a Salvia in a shop. To buy their legal highs, Ashbee and
:18:57. > :19:03.Hanna -- Ashley and her friend did not need to leave the house. It was
:19:03. > :19:08.horrible. It felt as if you work crashed on the floor. It was
:19:08. > :19:15.intensely depressing. I actually thought I was going to die. It was
:19:15. > :19:25.horrible. People go on the street and buy bags of cocaine and they
:19:25. > :19:31.don't worry, but of a website, on the computer, it cannot be that bad
:19:31. > :19:40.because it has got its own website. They don't even know what chemicals
:19:40. > :19:50.they talk. The night ended with them in hospital. It is not just
:19:50. > :19:53.
:19:53. > :20:03.A&E that deals with the consequences of legal highs, its FX
:20:03. > :20:05.
:20:05. > :20:15.other people. These doormen are briefed on what legal highs off.
:20:15. > :20:17.
:20:17. > :20:27.someone has drugs, we ban them automatically for three months.
:20:27. > :20:28.
:20:28. > :20:36.Tony, it can be a dirty job. combat the drug taking, we are
:20:36. > :20:46.putting Vaseline and WD40 on the surfaces. You can see the brown
:20:46. > :20:49.
:20:49. > :20:54.stains. There was a lot of residue. WD 40 disintegrates cocaine. We
:20:54. > :21:01.have taken locks off the doors so that we can get easy access. You
:21:01. > :21:07.can see more brown stairs -- brown stains hair. Once they have taken
:21:07. > :21:11.it, they throw and the bags a way. Sometimes they hide them in here.
:21:11. > :21:21.It is difficult to police, but we are trying our best. Tony suspects
:21:21. > :21:25.
:21:25. > :21:35.a man of being on a drugs. Al says he was trying to Spyker drink.
:21:35. > :21:41.
:21:41. > :21:46.you got a brown bottle on you? He didn't look right. We do not want
:21:46. > :21:56.to take a risk. If they take something and it kills them, it is
:21:56. > :22:03.
:22:03. > :22:07.on our heads. We are trying our hardest. So who is policing the
:22:07. > :22:12.sale of legal highs? The Home Office and Department of Health
:22:12. > :22:17.both have roles, as do agencies like Trading Standards. Jackie
:22:17. > :22:23.James words for them in Cardiff. These substances are unknown. We
:22:23. > :22:27.don't know where they were produced, who Magan. I have a 1,000 questions
:22:27. > :22:32.about these products and I have no answers. When we look get some of
:22:32. > :22:37.the samples, you see some of the things people put on them to get
:22:37. > :22:47.around legislation. They will have things on them like, not for human
:22:47. > :22:47.
:22:48. > :22:57.consumption. Can you think of any other product that is so
:22:57. > :23:07.unregulated? A generally, I can't. -- generally, I can't. Our research
:23:07. > :23:17.is under cover again. This time she is in Llanelli on the lookout for a
:23:17. > :23:25.
:23:25. > :23:35.liquid-known as Poppers. -- liquid known as Poppers. What will I do?
:23:35. > :23:40.
:23:40. > :23:50.You just sniff it. Selling the poppers is against the law. It
:23:50. > :24:00.
:24:00. > :24:08.She advised me not to take it on my own and said I should have someone
:24:08. > :24:12.with may when I did it because it makes your head feel funny. Our 17-
:24:12. > :24:22.year-old is sold the poppers and is told how to use it, which is
:24:22. > :24:24.
:24:24. > :24:34.against the law. Poplars used to contain isopropyl nitrate. That was
:24:34. > :24:40.
:24:40. > :24:44.removed because it was suspected the compound could cause cancer.
:24:44. > :24:49.However the replacement hasn't been properly tested. Do you think the
:24:49. > :24:57.people who take it in poppers are aware of that risk? I don't think
:24:57. > :25:03.they are. We contacted at Magpie's Nest where our 17-year-old
:25:03. > :25:09.researcher was sold the liquid high. The owner did not answer our
:25:09. > :25:15.allegations, so we went to the shop to talk to him. First, we met the
:25:15. > :25:20.shop assistant who sold the poppers. We have got some evidence of a 17-
:25:20. > :25:25.year-old girl been sold poppers and been sold -- shown how to use them.
:25:26. > :25:33.That is against the law. I think you were that shop assistants that
:25:33. > :25:41.sold the poppers to that girl. comment. Can you leave now. Then
:25:41. > :25:46.the owner turned up. We are from BBC Wales. Can I ask you some
:25:47. > :25:52.questions about a product to sell to a 17-year-old girl. We have
:25:52. > :26:00.evidence you saw poppers to a 17- year-old girl. I told you, no
:26:00. > :26:05.comment. Can you leave now, please? Trading Standards are interested in
:26:05. > :26:09.the evidence gathered for this programme. Parliament is now
:26:09. > :26:16.considering temporary banning orders on new legal highs. Someone
:26:16. > :26:22.to go further. I think with the misuse of drugs Act, it is time for
:26:22. > :26:27.it to be reviewed. There is talk of reclassification unsung trucks. The
:26:27. > :26:31.development of these new compounds at the rate they are being
:26:31. > :26:36.developed probably warrants a second look at how trucks are
:26:36. > :26:46.controlled. We wanted to speak to the Home Office about this, but no
:26:46. > :26:55.
:26:55. > :27:05.minister was available. In a There are risks with taking illegal
:27:05. > :27:05.
:27:05. > :27:13.drugs as well, but with an unprecedented number of legal highs,
:27:13. > :27:23.the effects are not known. Each one, as they are developed, will become
:27:23. > :27:33.stronger than the one before. do not know what is in an. We are
:27:33. > :27:37.
:27:37. > :27:41.the guinea pigs. People will still try them out. I am starting to bend.
:27:41. > :27:48.I don't understand how this is legal. It takes something to happen
:27:48. > :27:55.before any one does anything about it. As long as they are available,
:27:55. > :27:59.Craig, like many in Wales, is willing to gamble with legal highs.