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The Dangers of Legal Highs and NPS Addiction

July 15, 2025

2:50 pm

Person holding syringe and packet labeled 'Legal High' with visions of death, addiction, and brain damage

Table of contents

Introduction

Legal highs are dangerous and, for the last nine years, not legal: Either. While they had previously been outside of the law, the Psychoactive Substances Act of 2016 made them illegal. 

Sadly, while these substances are illegal they are still known as legal highs.

To enable their sale and distribution, suppliers will often market them as plant food, even incense or bath salts! Some can be injected, others smoked, snorted or simply swallowed.

Latterly they are known as New Psychoactive Substances: NPS.  

Detox and treatment is possible.

Some clients want to be treated at home instead of a rehab centre.

For legal highs this is not always possible but each case is treated on it’s own merits.

After all, safety is paramount.

If it is safe to do so then it can be arranged, though residential treatment is always preferable (and can even cost less than treatment at home.)

Let our experienced addictions clinicians, who have vast experience of treating NPS and legal high addiction, share their knowledge with you.

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Currently in the United Kingdom there are three commonly used NPS: 

Benzo Fury

  • Not to be confused with Benzodiazepines these are taken orally, and the user will experience its effects for two to three hours and last up to four.
  • It can take up to 14 hours to stop having an effect.
  • Users may experience a range of responses including Hallucinations, euphoria and boundless energy.
  • The downsides are very serious and can include Dangerously high blood pressure, crushing chest pains, liver damage and urinary retention.
  • There is also a risk of uncontrolled vomiting and severe headaches. At the very least the user may experience a flu like illness for a few days, after use, with a low mood: to boot.  

Mephedrone:

  • Also known as MCAT and meow meow.
  • A substance closely resembling Ecstasy, it can make the user very talkative with enhanced euphoria and a sense of intense wellbeing.
  • Sadly, the downsides outweigh this, including severe pain to the throat, mouth and nose with uncontrollable nose bleeds and severe difficulties swallowing.
  • Users very often find that it is impossible to stop using the drug, even after the first use.
  • As a stimulant it can affect the heart causing extreme changes to the rhythm. Blurred vision, muscle tension and pain in the jaw and face is also common.  

Spice:

+Synthetic cannabinoids are responsible for over half the deaths in custody.

+It is also responsible for nearly 100,000 attendances at accident and emergency departments a year in the UK.  

+The effects are, almost, instantaneous and very short lived.

+While using Spice can make someone feel euphoric, they can make the user feel very tired.

+They can induce paranoid, seizures, psychosis and overdose.

+It is common for users to choke on their own vomit. Contrary to the urban legend: Sucking on an orange will not reverse the effects.  

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Key Takeaways

  • Legal highs, now known as New Psychoactive Substances (NPS), remain illegal yet still circulate under various guises.
  • Common NPS like Benzo Fury and Mephedrone can lead to severe physical and psychological consequences, including addiction.
  • Dependency on NPS often leads to withdrawal symptoms, making recovery challenging and typically requiring medical supervision in rehab.
  • Home treatment for NPS is largely impractical; safe recovery necessitates specialized care in a rehab setting.
  • Find Me a Rehab offers expert assistance for those seeking help with legal highs detox and treatment, providing personalized advice and support.

Why do people get addicted to these? 

Using these substances is akin to swimming in treacle.

The user thinks that they can simply use them to relax, enjoy themselves and switch off from the stress of life.

However, very quickly, they get stuck and quickly sink. 

Clearly, not everyone who takes NPS will become addicted, but the dangers posed by these drugs are very serious.  

As with most addictive substances the user quickly has to use more to have the same effect as the initial amount taken to have the same effect.

At the same time, the body will start to react when the drug is not constantly taken.

This is known as withdrawal.

The dependency is now, not only physical, but psychological as the user is now adamant that they must use.

This draws the circle of addiction to a close and the user is now trapped, it is like swimming in treacle: You desperately want to get out, but you can’t.

On your own you can’t, but with the right help recovery is possible.  

What are the signs of NPS addiction?

Because of the way dealers market these drugs and due to the connection with the party scene, users don’t, usually, associate these drugs with things like Heroin, Cocaine, etc.

However, the effects can be just as devastating.

Someone dependent on NPS can spend, all day (and sometimes all night) thinking about their next use and making extensive arrangements to obtain them.

Their work, study and social/family commitments will suffer, and the user will put themselves at very significant risk, especially as they are breaking the law. 

As you cannot buy these drugs legally, the prices are not controlled, and you are at the mercy of your dealer.  

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What treatments are available?  

There is no detox, as such, for NPS.

However, someone who is dependent on them will need very careful medical monitoring in a rehab center.

The physical withdrawal, together with the psychological withdrawal, can be extremely dangerous. In some cases, a few days’ worth of supportive medication may be necessary to ensure a safe withdrawal.  

Is there home treatment available for NPS?  

In the majority of cases: No.

While it is a nice idea to be able to recover at home, due to their nature, safe withdrawal from NPS can be a very rough ride.

Aside from the essential medical input, only a rehab center with trained recovery staff and therapists can, ordinarily, provide the right environment for someone to recover.

However, it may be possible, depending on the circumstances.

Be very wary of interventionists

Trying to convince a loved one, friend, colleague, employee that they need treatment can be difficult.

In the UK all treatment in rehab or at home is voluntary.

You can not coerce someone to get help.

There are individuals who call themselves interventionists”. They tout themselves on the internet as being able to convince someone that they need help.

This industry is not regulated. There is no official training and, often, payment is only due when they convince the person to go into rehab.

Please avoid them.

Going into rehab simply to appease family and friends rarely bears fruit.

There is support to help you on how to have a difficult conversation with someone.

Our clinicians have worked in most of the well known centres in the UK and will be pleased to give you free, independent and impartial advice.

Here at Find Me a Rehab we have specialist addictions clinicians who can help you to find a Rehab Centre UK. If you need free clinician drug advice: Call.

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How can Find Me a Rehab help?

We are experienced addictions clinicians who have decades of experience, each, in assessing, diagnosing and prescribing for patients struggling with addiction.

Our experience has been gained through working in prisons, private hospitals and rehab centres, NHS GP shared care addiction clinics, local authority community addiction services and 3rd sector/charity commissioned residential rehabs.

Getting help

Call, email or live chat with an experienced addictions clinician on any aspect of addiction including detox, rehab, home treatment, therapy, relapse prevention and aftercare.

Our clinicians can discuss treatment plans, treatment options, locations, costings and logistics.

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Need help finding the right rehab for you or a loved one? Get in touch today and take the first step toward recovery.

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