
East Riding of Yorkshire Council is launching an awareness campaign this week which aims to highlight the risks of New Psychoactive Substances (also known as Legal Highs). The campaign aims to highlight the risks of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) and recreational substance misuse. NPS are substances used like illegal drugs, but not covered by current misuse of drugs laws, and so are legal to possess or to use. Although these drugs are marketed as legal substances, it doesn’t mean they are safe or approved for people to use. It just means that they’ve not been declared illegal to use and possess. They are still normally considered illegal to sell under medicines legislation. NPS can carry serious health risks. The chemicals they contain have, in most cases, never been used in drugs for human consumption before, so haven’t been tested to show that they are safe. Users can never be certain what they are taking and what the effects might be. Some drugs marketed as legal highs actually contain some ingredients that are illegal to possess. NPS are usually sold on internet sites as plant food, bath salts or herbal remedies. They may be labelled ‘not for human consumption’. Used alongside…



