Current 'Legal Highs'
Background: A growing number of novel substances have been abused as recreational drugs by young people in the United States (US), Europe, and Australia. Called "legal highs," these substances range from plant-based to completely synthetic compounds. Spice, Salvia, mephedrone, methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), and other cathinone derivatives have psychotropic effects and are marketed for recreational use through exploitation of inadequacies in existing controlled substance laws.
Objectives: This article reviews available literature on the most common "legal highs" as well as discussing the scientific basis for the legal difficulties in controlling trafficking in these novel substances.
Conclusions: "Legal highs" continue to increase in use in the US, Europe, and Australia. These substances are powerful, can mimic effects of more traditional drugs of abuse, and are intentionally manufactured to circumvent existing controlled substance laws. As controlled substance legislation may be inadequate in the face of the quickly evolving legal highs, physicians are likely to see an increase in the prevalence of legal highs.
Over the past decade, a growing number of substances have been abused as recreational drugs, primarily by young people, in the United States (US), Europe, and Australia. So-called "legal highs" are substances with psychotropic effects that are intentionally marketed and distributed for recreational use by exploiting inadequacies of existing controlled substance legislation. The speed at which novel compounds are being introduced and subsequently modified by drug designers to avoid detection or legal scrutiny, has left scientific and legislative communities participating in a cat-and-mouse legislative and public health game that seems to have no foreseeable resolution. As compared to traditional psychotropics of abuse (e.g., cocaine, phencyclidine, opiates), little information exists in the medical literature concerning this rapidly emerging class of recreational drugs. The sheer number of substances marketed as legal highs, as well as the speed at which they are developed and modified by drug designers, complicates a truly comprehensive review of currently circulating compounds. This review instead focuses on the most widely used and high-media-profile legal highs that have appeared in popular culture and in Emergency Departments (EDs) over the past several years.
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Background: A growing number of novel substances have been abused as recreational drugs by young people in the United States (US), Europe, and Australia. Called "legal highs," these substances range from plant-based to completely synthetic compounds. Spice, Salvia, mephedrone, methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), and other cathinone derivatives have psychotropic effects and are marketed for recreational use through exploitation of inadequacies in existing controlled substance laws.
Objectives: This article reviews available literature on the most common "legal highs" as well as discussing the scientific basis for the legal difficulties in controlling trafficking in these novel substances.
Conclusions: "Legal highs" continue to increase in use in the US, Europe, and Australia. These substances are powerful, can mimic effects of more traditional drugs of abuse, and are intentionally manufactured to circumvent existing controlled substance laws. As controlled substance legislation may be inadequate in the face of the quickly evolving legal highs, physicians are likely to see an increase in the prevalence of legal highs.
Introduction
Over the past decade, a growing number of substances have been abused as recreational drugs, primarily by young people, in the United States (US), Europe, and Australia. So-called "legal highs" are substances with psychotropic effects that are intentionally marketed and distributed for recreational use by exploiting inadequacies of existing controlled substance legislation. The speed at which novel compounds are being introduced and subsequently modified by drug designers to avoid detection or legal scrutiny, has left scientific and legislative communities participating in a cat-and-mouse legislative and public health game that seems to have no foreseeable resolution. As compared to traditional psychotropics of abuse (e.g., cocaine, phencyclidine, opiates), little information exists in the medical literature concerning this rapidly emerging class of recreational drugs. The sheer number of substances marketed as legal highs, as well as the speed at which they are developed and modified by drug designers, complicates a truly comprehensive review of currently circulating compounds. This review instead focuses on the most widely used and high-media-profile legal highs that have appeared in popular culture and in Emergency Departments (EDs) over the past several years.