Police warn about festive NPS drugs

Wiltshire Police has issued a warning to festive party-goers to reconsider taking legal highs, which are also known as party drugs or new psychoactive substances (NPS), this festive season.

Christmas is notorious for binge drinking and overeating; however, every year many people also feel tempted to try legal highs for the first time. The problem with legal highs is that the only reason they have not been banned is because there is currently insufficient evidence that they cause serious harm. This does not mean that they are harmless.

Many legal highs are cut with dangerous chemicals that can have serious side effects. Legal highs are also often untested, and dealers provide no guarantees about the chemicals within the drugs.

Wiltshire Police has warned people about the following legal highs, which are known to cause some problems:

MDVP: This is actually a class B drug and sold as a powder. It is similar to the stimulant mephedrone.

PVP: Sold in crystal form, this is a schedule 1 controlled drug in many countries after causing deaths.

ETIZOLAM: This is an analogue of benzodiazepine. It is very dangerous when mixed with other drugs, including alcohol. Like PVP, it has caused deaths.

This year 52 people have died after taking NPS drugs. Inspector Paul Saunders of Wiltshire Police said: “Even though these drugs might not be illegal, it is still very difficult to know exactly what is in them and the affect they might have on an individual.”

Taking drugs always poses a risk. Many people make the mistake of thinking that recreational drugs must be safe because they are legal; however, many people become dependent on party drugs and new psychoactive substances, and this dependence can cause social and health problems.