Drugs chat with Andy from Drugscope
Andy McNicoll from Drugscope dropped in to TheSite chat room to answer your questions on legal highs, approaching a friend about their drug use, ecstasy, cocaine and more.
Rob: Why has the quality of ecstasy, MDMA and cocaine gone down so much recently?
Andy: It's a good point; the purity of drugs on the street has fallen in the last few years. I don't think there's a straightforward answer. Different people will tell you different things and there's likely to be a number of factors.
One factor is that dealers are cutting cocaine to mix it with different things; that will have an effect on the purity. There's also been suggestion that what they cut it with substances that mimic the effects of cocaine, which means they can pass off a lower quality drug as a higher quality one.
There have been some pretty sizeable police seizures of cocaine, while they won't entirely contribute to a fall in quality, it may well have had some impact.
In terms of ecstasy, it may have something to do with the fact that the drug was associated with rave culture in the 90s, so in the early days the pills were of really high quality. As the rave culture has died down, the market has spread out and its become less of a quality drug. Ecstasy is now much more of a street drug and so there's a wider desire for it. Its probably perceived that the market doesnt expect or demand the same quality that it did before.
Rob: I recently saw Louis Theroux's "The City Addicted to Crystal Meth" on TV. Why has the UK never had a predominant problem with Crystal Meth? Considering its simple to produce, do you think its something to be worried about becoming an epidemic over here?
Andy: It's a really interesting question. The documentary really showed how harmful the drug can be. You're right, compared to a lot of other drugs the production process is simpler.
In terms of why the UK hasn't seen an influx - a few years ago people were really worried it might happen, but it hasn't yet. This is probably because we have such a profitable and widespread stimulant market in drugs like crack cocaine and speed.
The strength in this market is probably why we haven't seen crystal meth spread. However, it's wise to keep vigilant about it as pockets do turn up now and then. But it's certainly not as popular as in other countries like Australia and parts of America.
Rob: Do you think 'legal' highs such as mephedrone and methylone pose more risk to young people than drugs like MDMA or cocaine considering how accessible and misunderstood they are?
Andy: I don't think its possible to really say that one poses more risk than the other. Legal highs like the ones mentioned are quite sophisticated chemically and are intentionally designed to mimic the effects of illegal drugs. The important thing to say is that legal doesn't mean safe.
Drugs like these do have harm related to them. They have a tendency to induce anxiety and paranoid states in people. They can potentially be misunderstood so it's good that the Frank campaign has started about legal highs to make people aware of the risks. There is a risk of underestimating something because its legal.
Legal highs like 'spice' and 'gbl' are going to be made illegal in January 2010, these similarly mimic illegal drugs. So there's a chance drugs like mephedrone will be looked at by the government and a similar decision will be made.
emilie: How long does cannabis remain in your system if you don't smoke it but people you live with smoke it daily? I have applied to be a police officer and Im worried about the drug testing. Even though I don't take drugs I'm around people that do. Would you advise that I move out before being accepted?
Andy: There's a supposed health risk to passive smoking but its hard to be certain whether or not you'd test positive as it depends on so many factors - such as, how much there was, how strong it was and how much you were inhaling.
If you think there's a risk it might put your job in jeopardy then perhaps think about distancing yourself from cannabis use. Do you think you might be able to talk to your housemates about it before taking any drastic action? There's so many things involved, it's tough to give a definite answer on how it might register in a drugs test.
emilie: The people I live with are my parents, they have smoked it for nearly 27 years now and arent willing to give it up. I just wanted to know how much it would be affecting me?
Andy: If you're concerned about this, or the effect it might be having on you, then there are support groups you could look into. It would be worth looking at the adfam website as they have a lot of publications and details of support services around the country that can give you advice about your parents drug use.
emilie: Thanks.
Andy: No problem Emilie. I hope it works out for you with the police.
"Legal highs are quite sophisticated chemically and are intentionally designed to mimic the effects of illegal drugs. The important thing to say is that legal doesn't mean safe."
Jo7: There seems to be lots of conflicting information online about mdmc, what is it?
Andy: Mdmc is another name for methylone, a so-called 'legal high'. It's a psychoactive drug that is said to mimic the effects of ecstasy. You make a good point about conflicting information as this is one of the big problems with these legal high drugs.
There isn't enough clear and accurate info out there about a lot of them, that's why the recent Frank campaign has been good in providing some info about them. Obviously as far as possible we need to make sure people are aware of the risks and know that just because they're legal doesn't mean they're not without risk of causing harm.
aboylearning: I have a question about my friend who takes drugs quite rarely (like once every six months) just because there is another friend of ours who uses drugs regularly. Is it OK to take something just every six months or you should you never take it? I am worried he will get addicted to it from doing it once?
Andy: It sounds like you're asking if your friend will get addicted if he takes drugs again. Is that right?
aboylearning: Yeah kind of, is it alright to take it just every six months (health-wise) or should you just never take it?
Andy: There are a lot of factors that could come into this. First and foremost, it will depend on the drug itself. Different drugs have different potential for addiction. In the UK, the most common drug for severe addiction is heroin. You can become physically addicted to this so that when the body doesn't have it, it suffers from withdrawal. People will start to sweat and suffer all kinds of other horrible symptoms. Your body has an unpleasant response to not having heroin in the system.
On the other hand there's another type of dependency called psychological dependency. That can happen with drugs like cannabis and cocaine and that's where someone becomes addicted to the feelings that the drugs give them rather than it being a biological thing.
Do you know what kind of drug your friend is using?
aboylearning: Well I know that its black in colour, I try not to look. They tend to go elsewhere when they want to take it.
Andy: The important thing to understand is that drug use has a lot of harms beyond addiction. It can affect your school work or your job. All illegal drugs and some legal ones like alcohol pose real risks to your mental and physical health. There's also the impact it can have on how you function day to day if you're using regularly, as well the impact on relationships with family and friends.
You're right to be concerned about your friends drug use and it's not just about addiction, there can be problems before it gets to that point. Whatever drug they are taking, it's certainly never a harmless thing to do.
aboylearning: Hmm, I think Ill have to talk to him. Thanks Andy.
Andy: It's a difficult topic to bring up with a friend. Perhaps you could look to see if there are drug support services in your area to help you think about how you might approach the issue as it can be really tough.
If you're in the UK you can call Talk to Frank on 0800 77 66 00
Jo7: You might want to take a look at this article too on dealing with someone elses problem.
aboylearning: There isnt much support around me. I think Ill have to talk to him. We did talk about it before but he always tries to change the subject. Being a very close friend I should try to convince him to stop and ask the other friend of ours not to come round as hes really the source of the problem.
Andy: This sounds like it's really hard for you - but it would be a good idea to check out the article Jo7 mentioned for advice on how to broach the subject. Have another look for local services too as something might be available. Good luck.
Jo7: Good luck with it all; it sounds like he's really lucky to have such a good friend.
aboylearning: Thanks a lot Andy.
Andy: If anyone is looking for particular information about specific drugs then please go ahead and check out our website www.drugscope.org.uk. You can also use our email service, info@drugscope.org.uk. Thanks for all your great questions, I've enjoyed chatting with you.
Drugs chat with Andy from Drugscope
Andy McNicoll from Drugscope dropped in to TheSite chat room to answer your questions on legal highs, approaching a friend about their drug use, ecstasy, cocaine and more.
Rob: Why has the quality of ecstasy, MDMA and cocaine gone down so much recently?
Andy: It's a good point; the purity of drugs on the street has fallen in the last few years. I don't think there's a straightforward answer. Different people will tell you different things and there's likely to be a number of factors.
One factor is that dealers are cutting cocaine to mix it with different things; that will have an effect on the purity. There's also been suggestion that what they cut it with substances that mimic the effects of cocaine, which means they can pass off a lower quality drug as a higher quality one.
There have been some pretty sizeable police seizures of cocaine, while they won't entirely contribute to a fall in quality, it may well have had some impact.
In terms of ecstasy, it may have something to do with the fact that the drug was associated with rave culture in the 90s, so in the early days the pills were of really high quality. As the rave culture has died down, the market has spread out and its become less of a quality drug. Ecstasy is now much more of a street drug and so there's a wider desire for it. Its probably perceived that the market doesnt expect or demand the same quality that it did before.
Rob: I recently saw Louis Theroux's "The City Addicted to Crystal Meth" on TV. Why has the UK never had a predominant problem with Crystal Meth? Considering its simple to produce, do you think its something to be worried about becoming an epidemic over here?
Andy: It's a really interesting question. The documentary really showed how harmful the drug can be. You're right, compared to a lot of other drugs the production process is simpler.
In terms of why the UK hasn't seen an influx - a few years ago people were really worried it might happen, but it hasn't yet. This is probably because we have such a profitable and widespread stimulant market in drugs like crack cocaine and speed.
The strength in this market is probably why we haven't seen crystal meth spread. However, it's wise to keep vigilant about it as pockets do turn up now and then. But it's certainly not as popular as in other countries like Australia and parts of America.
Rob: Do you think 'legal' highs such as mephedrone and methylone pose more risk to young people than drugs like MDMA or cocaine considering how accessible and misunderstood they are?
Andy: I don't think its possible to really say that one poses more risk than the other. Legal highs like the ones mentioned are quite sophisticated chemically and are intentionally designed to mimic the effects of illegal drugs. The important thing to say is that legal doesn't mean safe.
Drugs like these do have harm related to them. They have a tendency to induce anxiety and paranoid states in people. They can potentially be misunderstood so it's good that the Frank campaign has started about legal highs to make people aware of the risks. There is a risk of underestimating something because its legal.
Legal highs like 'spice' and 'gbl' are going to be made illegal in January 2010, these similarly mimic illegal drugs. So there's a chance drugs like mephedrone will be looked at by the government and a similar decision will be made.
emilie: How long does cannabis remain in your system if you don't smoke it but people you live with smoke it daily? I have applied to be a police officer and Im worried about the drug testing. Even though I don't take drugs I'm around people that do. Would you advise that I move out before being accepted?
Andy: There's a supposed health risk to passive smoking but its hard to be certain whether or not you'd test positive as it depends on so many factors - such as, how much there was, how strong it was and how much you were inhaling.
If you think there's a risk it might put your job in jeopardy then perhaps think about distancing yourself from cannabis use. Do you think you might be able to talk to your housemates about it before taking any drastic action? There's so many things involved, it's tough to give a definite answer on how it might register in a drugs test.
emilie: The people I live with are my parents, they have smoked it for nearly 27 years now and arent willing to give it up. I just wanted to know how much it would be affecting me?
Andy: If you're concerned about this, or the effect it might be having on you, then there are support groups you could look into. It would be worth looking at the adfam website as they have a lot of publications and details of support services around the country that can give you advice about your parents drug use.
emilie: Thanks.
Andy: No problem Emilie. I hope it works out for you with the police.
Jo7: There seems to be lots of conflicting information online about mdmc, what is it?
Andy: Mdmc is another name for methylone, a so-called 'legal high'. It's a psychoactive drug that is said to mimic the effects of ecstasy. You make a good point about conflicting information as this is one of the big problems with these legal high drugs.
There isn't enough clear and accurate info out there about a lot of them, that's why the recent Frank campaign has been good in providing some info about them. Obviously as far as possible we need to make sure people are aware of the risks and know that just because they're legal doesn't mean they're not without risk of causing harm.
aboylearning: I have a question about my friend who takes drugs quite rarely (like once every six months) just because there is another friend of ours who uses drugs regularly. Is it OK to take something just every six months or you should you never take it? I am worried he will get addicted to it from doing it once?
Andy: It sounds like you're asking if your friend will get addicted if he takes drugs again. Is that right?
aboylearning: Yeah kind of, is it alright to take it just every six months (health-wise) or should you just never take it?
Andy: There are a lot of factors that could come into this. First and foremost, it will depend on the drug itself. Different drugs have different potential for addiction. In the UK, the most common drug for severe addiction is heroin. You can become physically addicted to this so that when the body doesn't have it, it suffers from withdrawal. People will start to sweat and suffer all kinds of other horrible symptoms. Your body has an unpleasant response to not having heroin in the system.
On the other hand there's another type of dependency called psychological dependency. That can happen with drugs like cannabis and cocaine and that's where someone becomes addicted to the feelings that the drugs give them rather than it being a biological thing.
Do you know what kind of drug your friend is using?
aboylearning: Well I know that its black in colour, I try not to look. They tend to go elsewhere when they want to take it.
Andy: The important thing to understand is that drug use has a lot of harms beyond addiction. It can affect your school work or your job. All illegal drugs and some legal ones like alcohol pose real risks to your mental and physical health. There's also the impact it can have on how you function day to day if you're using regularly, as well the impact on relationships with family and friends.
You're right to be concerned about your friends drug use and it's not just about addiction, there can be problems before it gets to that point. Whatever drug they are taking, it's certainly never a harmless thing to do.
aboylearning: Hmm, I think Ill have to talk to him. Thanks Andy.
Andy: It's a difficult topic to bring up with a friend. Perhaps you could look to see if there are drug support services in your area to help you think about how you might approach the issue as it can be really tough.
If you're in the UK you can call Talk to Frank on 0800 77 66 00
Jo7: You might want to take a look at this article too on dealing with someone elses problem.
aboylearning: There isnt much support around me. I think Ill have to talk to him. We did talk about it before but he always tries to change the subject. Being a very close friend I should try to convince him to stop and ask the other friend of ours not to come round as hes really the source of the problem.
Andy: This sounds like it's really hard for you - but it would be a good idea to check out the article Jo7 mentioned for advice on how to broach the subject. Have another look for local services too as something might be available. Good luck.
Jo7: Good luck with it all; it sounds like he's really lucky to have such a good friend.
aboylearning: Thanks a lot Andy.
Andy: If anyone is looking for particular information about specific drugs then please go ahead and check out our website www.drugscope.org.uk. You can also use our email service, info@drugscope.org.uk. Thanks for all your great questions, I've enjoyed chatting with you.