Lying back, exhaling: usually the last thing a person does before leaving this world. Only, in this case, it is the world that is leaving me.
A few minutes ago, I smoked a pipe of Salvia divinorum, a powerful hallucinogenic herb that I bought openly and legally from a shop near my home. Of the £25 I handed over, more than £4 will find its way into government coffers in the form of sales tax. And salvia was just one of dozens of powerful but entirely legal psychoactive substances that I could have chosen.
All of that was far from my mind, though, as the salvia took me on a consciousness- expanding journey unlike any I have ever experienced. My body felt disconnected from me, and objects and people looked cartoonish, surreal and marvellous. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, it was over. The visions vanished and I was back in my bedroom. I spoke to my “sitter”— the friend who, as recommended on the packaging, was watching over me — but my mouth was awkward and clumsy. When I attempted to stand, my co-ordination was off. Within a couple of minutes, however, I was fine and clear-headed, though dripping with sweat. The whole experience had lasted less than five minutes.
Studies have so far shown salvia to be nonaddictive. It also appears to have limited potential for abuse. “Most people taking drugs are not looking for an out-of-body experience,” says Harry Shapiro of the drugs information charity DrugScope. “Salvia is so strong that people try it once and never take it again.”
But Tim Kendall, the deputy director of the Royal College of Psychiatrists research unit, says: “When you take salvia, you are playing with fire. After bad experiences, people frequently have flashbacks that can be almost like a post-traumatic stress problem.”
My salvia trip was part of a journey into the world of “legal highs”, a new generation of powerful mind- altering substances that are rising in popularity. Accurate figures are hard to come by, as these substances are rarely monitored by drug-enforcement agencies. But the proliferation of online and high-street retailers suggests they are an increasingly lucrative business. Stargate, a New Zealand- based internet company specialising in legal drugs, recently reported an annual turnover of £8.5m.
So why the sudden explosion? Paul Anand, the manager of Shiva, the shop in Greenwich where I bought my salvia, says that his customers are attracted by the safety and quality of his products. “People are confident of what they’re buying — that it’s not cut with rat poison. They enjoy coming into the shop. They’re not forced to meet a dodgy bloke in a UV-lit disco to buy an aspirin.”
Vendors also make a selling point of legality. With drug tests increasingly routine in workplaces, thirty- and fortysomethings are switching to highs that don’t put them on the wrong side of the law, says Anand. And with legality comes, if not official approval, then at least an imprimatur of safety.
Among the most popular legal highs are compounds called piperazines, which are chemically similar to Viagra, but with an amphetamine-like action. Known by various brand names such as Pep and Bliss, their main active ingredient is benzylpiperazine (BZP). Originally developed as a drug to treat parasites in livestock, piperazines have been sporadically used on the dance scene for many years, but began to take off in a big way about three years ago. Anand started selling them earlier this year, and says that they are becoming more popular by the month.
BZP is often combined with another piperazine, trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine (TFMPP), which has a relaxing, euphoric effect that has been compared to ecstasy. Both drugs activate the 5HT serotonin receptor in the brain — the same receptor targeted by amphetamines and MDMA, or ecstasy — and cause the release of dopamine. This is responsible for the high associated with the pills, though it can also lead to anxiety, overheating and dehydration.
In one survey, only half of people who had used BZP said they would describe its effects as “good”; 16% said it was “good early, but bad later”; 10% said “bad” and 14%, “neither good nor bad”. My own experience of using BZP was mixed, with some enjoyable effects, but also a bout of paranoia, insomnia and a bad hangover the next day.
The popularity of BZP, along with anecdotal reports of adverse reactions, withdrawal symptoms and psychotic episodes, has led politicians and doctors to start campaigning for a ban. In New Zealand, where a recent survey has found that one in seven people aged between 15 and 45 has tried the drug, worries are emerging about its effects on health. According to Paul Gee, an emergency doctor from Christchurch hospital, BZP-related admissions were almost unheard of two years ago, but are now commonplace. Between April and September last year, his team dealt with 80 users complaining of nausea, vomiting, anxiety and palpitations. Some had seizures; two cases were life-threatening.
BZP has recently been made illegal in Japan, Denmark, Greece, Sweden and, as of September 1, Australia. In the UK, it remains legal, but is on the agenda for discussion at the government’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.
Whatever the fate of BZP, party pills won’t be the last legal high to occupy government time. The next craze is likely to be for a legal high called kratom, the extract of a tree native to southeast Asia, which has been dubbed the “herbal speedball” for its euphoric and energising properties.
Kratom’s main active ingredient, mitragynine, binds to the same opiate receptor as opium, heroin and cocaine. There are no documented overdoses or fatalities, and proponents claim it is nonaddictive, although last year, a team from Josai International University in Togane, Japan, published evidence to the contrary. It is legal almost everywhere except Thailand and Australia. In high doses, it is supposed to produce hallucinogenic effects. However, when I tried it, boiling the leaves to make a nauseating tea, it merely made me sick and sleepy.
Arguably, drugs such as kratom are legal, not because they have official approval but by default: they have yet to become popular enough to attract the attention of lawmakers. Once that happens — as with magic mushrooms in the UK — governments are quick to clamp down.
Some researchers would welcome a ban on salvia and other currently legal drugs. One of these is the pharmacologist and substance misuse researcher Fabrizio Schifano of St George’s Medical School in London. He says the main problem with psychoactive substances — and hallucinogens in particular — is that they may incite psychosis. “How do you know if someone will have a sensitivity to the drug?” he says. “I am really worried by the prevalence of these drugs, and the fact that most users get their information from the internet. It is not peer-reviewed research, just people’s opinions, and that is dangerous.”
The legal buzz
Salvia
What is it? The dried leaves of “diviner's sage” (Salvia divinorum).
Effect An intense but short-acting hallucinogen.
Downsides Many users find the experience frighteningly powerful.
Legal status Illegal in Australia, Italy, Sweden and four US states (Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee and Delaware).
Typical cost £10 per gram.
BZP
What is it? A synthetic compound, often labelled “herbal” because it can be extracted from pepper plants. Often sold to clubbers in pills known as Jax due to the Union Jack logo.
Effect An amphetamine-like stimulant.
Downsides Headaches, dehydration, flu-like hangovers. Risk of panic attacks and high blood pressure. There is also some evidence that it has cocaine-like addictiveness and abuse potential.
Legal status Illegal in the USA, Japan, Denmark, Greece, Sweden and Australia.
Typical cost £4 per pill.
Kratom
What is it? The dried leaves of a southeast Asian tree.
Effect Known as the “herbal speedball”, it acts like an opiate, with energising and euphoric effects.
Downsides Some research suggests it is addictive; many users feel unwell after taking it.
Legal status Illegal in Australia, Thailand and Malaysia.
Typical cost £10 for 15 grams.
The full version of this article first appeared in New Scientist Salvia
