Legal highs growing in popularity, says police drug expert

The substances, such as hippy crack, are readily available and often seen discarded outside clubs, takeaways, and at festivals.

An Express & Star investigation revealed how canisters of controversial nitrous oxide was being advertised on two local websites for just 50p each.

All it took was just a couple of text messages to get our hands on 24 canisters of the potentially deadly drug, no questions asked.

Although legal, a Freedom of Information request to West Midlands Police showed a sharp rise in references of so-called legal highs in crime reports from nine between April 2013 to 2014 to 40 in the past year.

The force said in some of the cases the drug was identified to be illegal.

What is hippy crack?

Hippy crack is nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas. It has become a craze at festivals and concerts, where it can often be bought in balloons to inhale.It blocks signals to the conscious mind from other parts of the brain, giving users a feeling of intense euphoria and relaxation. The gas was traditionally used by dentists and surgeons to numb pain and is put into some aerosol cans as a whipping agent, as in whipped cream canisters.

Is it legal?

Possessing and inhaling nitrous oxide is legal, but supplying it to others to inhale, especially people under 18, could lead to prosecution under the Medicines Act.

Is it dangerous? There has been 17 deaths linked to hippy crack but experts are yet to conclude whether it is lethal on its own when inhaled through a balloon.

Short-term side effects can include headaches, dizziness and unconsciousness, while long-term, excessive use has been associated with anaemia, incontinence, depleted bone marrow and numbness in fingers and toes.

How popular is it?

West Midlands Police drugs expert Detective Constable Vince Jones said: "There has been a rise in the use of these materials. As far back as 2005 I encountered many seizures of BZP (usually used in veterinary medicine) and associated substances being used as alternatives for controlled drugs – especially ecstasy.

"The influx of alternatives has increased since then.

"With nitrous oxide there is potential for oxygen starvation when inhaling the drug but this is rare and does not generally occur when inhaling from balloons.

"However, it is a dissociative drug where the user feels as if they are not actually in the situation they are, such as outside looking in. This means that they have temporary loss of control and co-ordination.

"The lack of awareness and co-ordination can be dangerous in itself, this is why there are vulnerability issues as well as the possibility of accidental injury.

"Like many substances, the risk increases when mixing nitrous oxide with other substances, especially stimulants like cocaine, a drug that often features in the same social environments. This can put a lot of pressure on the heart and this is very risky for anyone with a heart condition.

"There are some very knowledgeable users of psychoactive substances but most deaths and injury will occur from ignorance. I have to stress that the most dangerous aspect of these substances is the ignorance – would you swallow a white powder without knowing what is in it?"

Home Office research showed that laughing gas was the second most popular drug among young adults after cannabis. It is more widely used than powdered cocaine and ecstasy.

Research by the Local Government Association also described as 'deeply disturbing' the notion that many young people view nitrous oxide as safe, despite it being linked to a number of deaths.

Mr Jones added: "The main thrust of the police approach is about stemming supply.

"Many of the substances have been proven to contain controlled drugs so it is an illegal activity in many cases. Not all new psychoactive substances are controlled or contain controlled drugs so we have a network of liaison with local authorities, drug treatment agencies. I sit on one such panel and the forum is used to discuss trends and threats so that the correct information can be fed to the most vulnerable sections within that area. This is usually the young people who are most likely to experiment with these substances. The feedback from the various age groups is fed back in to the forum to allow other professionals to consider and design more effective ways to prevent the use of these materials."

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said he is deeply concerned at the growing popularity of nitrous oxide.

He said: "This nitrous oxide is getting more popular. When I go out on patrol at the Notting Hill Carnival the street is littered with canisters.

"It obviously affects people's behaviour and they get some kind of high from it. Just to be walking that distance, there is a huge amount of litter of this stuff about.

"There is a law going through this year in parliament about psychoactive substances and I suspect it is one being considered and is going to be banned.

"Now, how dangerous it is compared to other things I am not in a position to say.

"But the amount of use of it makes you wonder whether combined with other things such as alcohol and other drugs it could be an awful cocktail."