Legal highs, such as those you see sold at festivals across this land, have come under fire because they're rubbish and don't even work. No, that's not it, apparently they're bad for you.
Harry Shapiro of drugs charity Drugscope told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4: "The message is: legal doesn't necessarily mean safe. These drugs often mimic quite closely the effects of controlled drugs like ecstasy, LSD and amphetamines. So it's perfectly legitimate for the government through its advisory council to look at the clinical evidence and decide if they merit any clinical control. Although they are always going to be playing catch up, people will always try and tweak the chemistry".
John Ramsey of the TICTAC Drugs Database added: "There are packets of tablets and capsules that are sold as herbal highs, but are in no way herbal. It is lying about what it contains. The content on the packet bears very little relation to what's in them".