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Understanding Legal Highs: Insights and Collaborative Responses

Join John Arthur, Director, and Katy MacLeod, Training and Outreach Coordinator at Crew, as we explore the world of legal highs. We will define what these substances are, discuss how Crew collects and disseminates information, and tackle the challenges of ensuring that information is credible. Learn about the latest trends, the importance of collaboration, and the development of a national response network. Together, we can navigate the complexities of legal highs and enhance public safety through shared knowledge and resources.

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Understanding Legal Highs: Insights and Collaborative Responses

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Presentation Transcript

  1. Stimulating credible responses to legal highs With John Arthur- Director Katy MacLeod- Training and Outreach Coordinator Crew

  2. Welcome… Today we are looking at… • Definition of legal highs • How and where Crew gather information from • How we disseminate that information • The challenges of gathering credible information • How we can work together to create a national response

  3. What are legal highs? • Definition ( but by no means definitive) • “Legal Highs are substances made from assorted herbs, herbal extracts and ‘research chemicals’, which emulate the effects of some illegal drugs such as Cannabis, LSD, Cocaine, or others. These substances are not currently controlled by the Misuse of Drugs or Medicine Acts.” Arthur & Grunert (2005)

  4. Show time

  5. Ok what’s hot and what’s not Ivory wave NRG-1, 2, 3 Benzofury MDAI 5-AI

  6. Where do we get our information? • Monitoring trends via outreach to music events/universities/clubs and drop-in • Questionnaires and surveys • Expert user interviews • Various drug forums • EU Safer nightlife initiative • Other agencies-info exchange • European social work placements • John Moores university-analysis

  7. How we feed out our information • Brief interventions with service users • Training and capacity building • Compiling information sheets and cards • Updating website regularly • Mail shots • Briefing partnership agencies • Briefing front line staff at events

  8. What about credibility? • Limited access to drug testing and analysis • Often based on service user reports-not always 100% accurate • Timescales before a substance is made illegal can also be a barrier

  9. How can we work together? • Vital we share local intelligence • Communication network • National working group • Tap and feed into early warning systems around E.U

  10. What do we need in order to do this? • Amnesty bins • Facilities for drug analysis • Organisations linked in with public health warnings • Establish a legal highs communications network

  11. Legal highs and emerging trends Crew pilot • 4 Pilot areas • Capacity building • Training to front line staff • Info exchange with partnership agencies • Project is action research

  12. Any Questions??

  13. Further info available on: www.crew2000.org.uk www.erowid.org Speaker contact details: Katy MacLeod KatyM@crew2000.org.uk John Arthur j.arthur@crew2000.org.uk Crew: 0131 220 3404

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