‘Legal highs made me suicidal'
An ex legal highs addict from the North East claims the drugs made him suicidal.
The 25 year old, who we're keeping anonymous, was taking the legal highs almost every day for four years.
He's now warning others about the dangers. He said:
“I was suicidal for a long time, extremely depressed, stopped eating, lost my job, lost relationships and sold many of my possessions just to fund the habit.”
“It very much destroyed my mental health, to the point where I had to commit myself to hospital on three separate occasions because I was scared for my safety.”
“One time I was being sick pools of blood, couldn't keep down water, couldn't regulate my body temperature, couldn't’ stand still. I literally felt like I fell asleep I would die. It was that that snapped me into thinking right I need to stop.”
The North East Ambulance Service say they're under pressure, with at least 379 legal high call outs since January 1st 2016. There’s been reports of people vomiting blood and having seizures in the street.
A new awareness raising social media campaign is launching in the North East today.
#LegalFails has been developed by young people using their real experiences with NPS substances, to help and support others.
Roweena Russell is from the campaign. She said:
“If the legal fails campaign can support others to understand the drugs that they’ve taken and understand what to do if something goes wrong and keep an eye out for their friends as well, I think that would be a really good start.”
“What we want to do it is to prevent, inform and reduce the harms that have already happened. Ambulance call outs are well over 300 for this year alone which put huge pressure on emergency services. We all want to make sure that everyone in the region gets the support and help that they need in a timely fashion.”
“Stigmatising people who need support, not punishment, does nothing to help anybody.”
Roweena is working with Newcastle City Council on the campaign, this afternoon a launch event will take place, showcasing videos of young people talking about their experiences.
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