Getting High in Wales Week In Week Out

language. Tonight, we investigate legal highs.

All we can do is keep an eye on things that will become a problem.

We meet the users. There will always be a replacement. It has got

to be the maddest thing I have taken. It was horrible. We go under

cover. And we show the disturbing effects

of some of these legal drugs. will give a strong warning to

everyone, do not take them. Can I ask you are a couple of questions

about a product you sold to a 17- year-old girl? A generation of

young people are being sold a lie. Craig Mahoney is celebrating his

26th birthday at his flat in Cardiff. Craig and his friends have

bought a product called Salvia. take it and then you feel different.

Your head feels really light and all of a sudden, it just hits you.

This is a powerful drug, derived from a Mexican plant. It is illegal,

available to buy on the high street but it is not for human consumption.

I sweat a lot. I am just wet. You do it and then whatever you see,

you will trek, it will last a couple of minutes. It could be

anything. That happens and then you get brought back into the room.

Your head gets screwed back on. What is going on? Sometimes you can

get a bad trip or a good trip. The bad ones, you panic and some people

run out of the room. If I am screaming, I square right -- I

swear I will do it again. You have done it again and I am going to

fucking kill you. Happy? Have you got the sweats again? Stopped

talking to me. Get away from me while I take drugs. Someone taking

out of the room. Legal highs can be heard will or plant product. They

can be chemical compounds, a liquid or even a gas. They are often

marketed as alternatives to classified drugs. More are

available than ever before. And they are getting stronger. 20-year-

old Ashley Pook is a student in Cardiff, a keen athlete, she trains

for triathlon is. She keeps herself fit but she also experiments with

some drugs. Ashley and her friend Hannah Meadows wanted to try a

legal high for a night out. In February, they went on line to get

drugs delivered to their door. was one of the most expensive. We

thought it was like that for a reason. It was the most popular, it

was sold out. It had good reviews. We watched that Daioni YouTube. He

looked like he was really enjoying it. We thought, we have to get it.

It will be amazing. I went on to the website and I spent so much

money. I spent �130. They said it was planned fooled and not for

human consumption. It said, enjoy your party. It said a not to be

consumed by humans. They have to say that. They bought their drugs

online. But you can also get them on the High Street. In places known

as head shops. These array few of the highs that you can buy in shops.

And even if they are legal, some of them should certainly not be sold

for human consumption. And if they are, then the person selling them

is breaking the law. We have been told some shops are

doing just that. A member of our team is going undercover. She is

just 17. Too young to buy alcohol. But what could she get hold of on

the High Street? She went to a number of shops, one of them was

The Party Shop in Swansea. There were fancy-dress things in the

window. In the small window, there was a gas mask. It had a bomb

attached to the front of it. I went in and ask for Salvia. -- bomb

attached to it. Salvia comes in different strengths. This man is

the shop owner. Legally, he is allowed to Senate, but not for

human consumption. A customer chips in. What do I do with it? But it in

a pipe. Other shops ask my age or made it clear that they could not

The owner should not be telling her how to consume Salvia. He pointed

to a bong and then he brought one down. He said it was �5.99. And

then he indicated where I should Our research has been just sold a

bomb. She was made -- she made Drug workers are becoming more

worried about the sale of legal highs which many people believe are

all harmless. Alan Andrews is a former drug user and now runs a

support service in Llanelli. It is becoming a bigger problem than

illegal drugs because the message, the legal means safe, which it is

not, and these drugs, some of them are stronger, more potent than the

illegal drugs. And it is quite scary because there is a generation

of young people who have been sold a lie that legal means safe. The

police, their hands are tied because they are legal. But they

are very potent. Last month, the monitoring centre which records

drug use across Europe said new legal highs were appearing at an

unprecedented pace. 41 new substances last year alone. Let's

see what we can find online. Already, a heap of websites trying

to sell me stuff. The amount of legal highs available

to buy online it suggests a large number of people are using them.

This one says legal ecstasy, whatever that is. Legal speed.

I have also find a forum where people discuss the legal highs and

share notes. It says it will not be around for

long before it is banned. This guy snorted eight lines. A few people

waiting for a few more reports before they try any of it.

I found this one well Sky who takes the drugs and reviews the effects

they are having on him in these videos -- videos he has posted on

the internet. I am an adviser. I advise people what the best legal

highs are to do and which ones are not. And now, you have got a bigger

problem on your hands now. Because now you have got all these new

chemicals out now and if you ban one, there will always be a

replacement. I fucking love you, my friends! Legal highs are not a new

problem but there are concerns that they are getting stronger. A few

years ago, mephedrone, known as meow meow became the party drug of

choice for many. Its effects were compared with speed and ecstasy but

crucially, it was legal. It hit the headlines after being linked to way

number of young deaths. availability, you can buy it off

the internet. There are hundreds of websites. 19-year-old Eddie it

lives in Cardiff. He is familiar with the drugs scene and meow meow.

I have never known a drug to be so available. People were getting it

sent in boxes to the halls. It was everywhere. Mephedrone was cheap,

legal and a hit with clubbers. Elliott has used some illegal drugs

and thought that legal highs were just a joke. Then he tried

mephedrone. Two grams for a tenner. It is so potent. It was shocking.

But as more people use mephedrone, stories began to emerge about the

consequences of taking it. It wears off so quickly. But as soon as it

wears off, you were constantly feeding for that next hit. I know a

few people, I would not call them addicts but they do rely on this

drug to have a good time. But for some users, there was more than

just a comedown. 18-year-old Max Llewellyn from the Rhondda Valley

was using mephedrone. In January last year, he killed himself. At

his inquest, the coroner said mephedrone had a role in his death,

describing the drug as evil. In April last year, it was banned and

made a Class B drug. But Elliott knows people are still using it.

There was a girl that said to me and a friend, her exact words were

I never took drugs and then someone told me this was illegal so I

sniffed it. And now we see that girl every week, of her box in

clubs. Since the drug has been banned, police in Wales have made

more than 100 arrests. This man was prosecuted but under -- undeterred,

he continues to take mephedrone. He asked us not to identify him.

stop if need be. But for now, it is not a hard thing, it does not

control my life. I still work. A can have fun. I can still go to my

house and speak to my mother. It is not out of control. I am a man with

a plan. I go out and do whatever happens. It is something to do.

Something for the weekend. authorities have also considered

banning Salvia but decided against it. John Ramsey sits on a working

group which reports to the UK government's drugs Advisory Council.

The Advisory Council on misuse of drugs has considered Salvia and I

think it probably will consider it again. The issue really is whether

we ban everything as soon as we see it. And there are just so many

things to consider that I think the general view is Salvia at the

moment does not constitute a sufficient problem to warrant

control. Salvia has been dubbed the YouTube drug because of the number

of people posting videos showing its effect. This is what happened

when 36-year-old Mark Hopkins took Salvia for the first time. We

wanted to speak to him about his experience. We found him and his

friend Neville birth -- Neville Braithwaite of the Gurnos estate in

Merthyr. He did not know what was going on. He was trying to get out

of the house but we did not want him to come outside in case he

heard himself. He thought we were going to beat him up. I would not

do it again. I would not. I would not recommend anyone else doing it.

I would rather go out and buy something else. At that time, I did

feel insecure. Neville Braithwaite is also filmed having taken Salvia.

That has got to be the maddest thing I have taken, probably. I

have tried magic mushrooms and acid and out of everything that has

smashed my head, it has got to be that, Salvia. I do not think I

would want another goal. John Ramsey tests thousands of drugs

every year. Salvia is quite an unpleasant drugs. It is a very

potent, powerful Huse -- hallucinogenic. It has powerful

effects that come on quickly and wrecked -- run off fairly quickly.

We are not overly concerned about it because very few people take it

I don't think I will ever try it again. You do not know what is

going on. You cannot control it. not take it. It is not nice at all.

Sao we're was not banned. Experts thought it so strong, it would not

be regularly used. Having been sold a bona, our research is going back

to the party shocked to see how she would be sold the drug. I know

friends of mine who have smoked Salvia. If you were really careful,

it is pleasant. So it defied by that -- so if I buy that? I do not

know. She should not be selling Salvia too aware researcher when it

is clear she was intending to consume it. Neville and Mark had

times 10 strength. She has just been sold time 60. A few minutes

later she returns and is sold a pipe. This is the cheapest one.

�3.99. I will take the silver won. What do why do with it? You need

these with it as well. That 50p. -- that is 50p. Thank you. So go away

researcher has the Salvia. That equipment she needs to use it as

well. In selling it to her for human consumption, they have broken

the law. We contacted the owner of the shop. He did not want to be

interviewed, but in a statement he Craig Mahoney, the party goes on.

had two bad trips today. This is really strong. Craig has a full-

time job, but when off duty, he occasionally chooses to take Salvia.

If you have a bad trip, it scares people and they say they will not

do it again. Other people, they love it. Sow fear can be

unpredictable. Craig's brother learns no two trips are the same.

This is fucking meet up! -- me up! The air are concerns it can cause

psychotic episodes. Do you think they could be risks? Should I be

taking this? If it is legal and it is in the shop, it can't do

anything to harm you. Do you see what I mean? One minute it is

really intense. I feel like I cannot get out of this. Craig

bought his a Salvia in a shop. To buy their legal highs, Ashbee and

Hanna -- Ashley and her friend did not need to leave the house. It was

horrible. It felt as if you work crashed on the floor. It was

intensely depressing. I actually thought I was going to die. It was

horrible. People go on the street and buy bags of cocaine and they

don't worry, but of a website, on the computer, it cannot be that bad

because it has got its own website. They don't even know what chemicals

they talk. The night ended with them in hospital. It is not just

A&E that deals with the consequences of legal highs, its FX

other people. These doormen are briefed on what legal highs off.

someone has drugs, we ban them automatically for three months.

Tony, it can be a dirty job. combat the drug taking, we are

putting Vaseline and WD40 on the surfaces. You can see the brown

stains. There was a lot of residue. WD 40 disintegrates cocaine. We

have taken locks off the doors so that we can get easy access. You

can see more brown stairs -- brown stains hair. Once they have taken

it, they throw and the bags a way. Sometimes they hide them in here.

It is difficult to police, but we are trying our best. Tony suspects

a man of being on a drugs. Al says he was trying to Spyker drink.

you got a brown bottle on you? He didn't look right. We do not want

to take a risk. If they take something and it kills them, it is

on our heads. We are trying our hardest. So who is policing the

sale of legal highs? The Home Office and Department of Health

both have roles, as do agencies like Trading Standards. Jackie

James words for them in Cardiff. These substances are unknown. We

don't know where they were produced, who Magan. I have a 1,000 questions

about these products and I have no answers. When we look get some of

the samples, you see some of the things people put on them to get

around legislation. They will have things on them like, not for human

consumption. Can you think of any other product that is so

unregulated? A generally, I can't. -- generally, I can't. Our research

is under cover again. This time she is in Llanelli on the lookout for a

liquid-known as Poppers. -- liquid known as Poppers. What will I do?

You just sniff it. Selling the poppers is against the law. It

She advised me not to take it on my own and said I should have someone

with may when I did it because it makes your head feel funny. Our 17-

year-old is sold the poppers and is told how to use it, which is

against the law. Poplars used to contain isopropyl nitrate. That was

removed because it was suspected the compound could cause cancer.

However the replacement hasn't been properly tested. Do you think the

people who take it in poppers are aware of that risk? I don't think

they are. We contacted at Magpie's Nest where our 17-year-old

researcher was sold the liquid high. The owner did not answer our

allegations, so we went to the shop to talk to him. First, we met the

shop assistant who sold the poppers. We have got some evidence of a 17-

year-old girl been sold poppers and been sold -- shown how to use them.

That is against the law. I think you were that shop assistants that

sold the poppers to that girl. comment. Can you leave now. Then

the owner turned up. We are from BBC Wales. Can I ask you some

questions about a product to sell to a 17-year-old girl. We have

evidence you saw poppers to a 17- year-old girl. I told you, no

comment. Can you leave now, please? Trading Standards are interested in

the evidence gathered for this programme. Parliament is now

considering temporary banning orders on new legal highs. Someone

to go further. I think with the misuse of drugs Act, it is time for

it to be reviewed. There is talk of reclassification unsung trucks. The

development of these new compounds at the rate they are being

developed probably warrants a second look at how trucks are

controlled. We wanted to speak to the Home Office about this, but no

minister was available. In a There are risks with taking illegal

drugs as well, but with an unprecedented number of legal highs,

the effects are not known. Each one, as they are developed, will become

stronger than the one before. do not know what is in an. We are

the guinea pigs. People will still try them out. I am starting to bend.

I don't understand how this is legal. It takes something to happen

before any one does anything about it. As long as they are available,

Craig, like many in Wales, is willing to gamble with legal highs.