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Science Cafe: Psychoactive Substances

Psychoactive Substances

BBC Radio Wales - Science Cafe, Psychoactive Substances

Adam Walton investigates how science is helping us detect and identify designer drugs.

So- called 'designer drugs' like spice are having a major impact on the streets of Wales. Adam Walton investigates how science is helping us understand new psychoactive substances.

Designer drugs... legal highs... club drugs... because of their cheapness and availability, these synthetic, laboratory-created drugs have had a major impact over the last few years – particularly among vulnerable communities like prisoners and the homeless. In this week's programme Adam Walton investigates how science is helping us understand new psychoactive substances.

A couple of years ago news stories labelled Wrexham as ‘Spice Town’ because of a major increase here in the so-called ‘zombie’ drug spice. This epidemic of the drug led to initiatives to combat it and rehabilitate users. Steve Campbell from CAIS, the north Wales drug and alcohol charity, joins Adam to talk about the impact of spice on the streets of Wales. 

We also hear from Dr. Amira Guirguis from Swansea University whose specialism is the detection and identification of psychoactive substances. Science Café reporter Jeremy Grange visits Cansford Laboratories in Cardiff, a company which analyses hair samples for potential drug-taking as evidence in criminal cases, family law and employers. And Adam meets Dr. Amiya Chaudhry from Glyndwr University who trains forensic science students in how to identify drugs which have been seized during a police raid. Or it could be a sample taken from someone in custody – or even from a corpse.

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