‘You Could Lose The Lot On Legal Highs’
Following the success of last year’s well received campaign to highlight the dangers of so-called ‘legal highs’, AIF are coordinating a new initiative around the same theme for 2015.
In 2014, AIF’s ‘Don’t Be In The Dark’ campaign involved over 20 music festivals participating in an online blackout, which saw the homepages on their respective official websites replaced for 24 hours by a message highlighting the dangers of legal highs.
This campaign attracted global media attention and reached over 9 million people on social media.
This year AIF has again teamed up again with legal highs charity Angelus and another 24 hour online blackout campaign will take place this coming Bank Holiday Monday (4th May 2015) from 9am with an image of a digital roulette wheel and the message ‘You Could Lose the Lot on Legal Highs’ to highlight the unpredictability of such substances.
The blackout page will lead to an infographic displaying key statistics, facts and advice about legal highs. This will include information and guidance about nitrous oxide, so called ‘laughing gas’ following growing concerns about its popular use by young people- including a letter from the Home Office to festival organisers advising that they take action against its use on festival sites.
Highlighting the unpredictability of such substances, this message aims to emphasise that the risk from legal highs can be equivalent or even greater than illegal drugs. There is less of a knowledge base surrounding legal highs, they are constantly evolving and it is dangerous to equate ‘legal’ with ‘safe’.
To further illustrate the growing dangers surrounding legal highs, in 2012 there were 73 new substances, in 2013 there 81 more and last year the figure rose to 101 (EMCDDA Figures). According to Office for National Statistics, there were at least 60-recorded deaths from legal substances in 2014. The Royal Edinburgh Hospital Toxins Unit recorded 114 admissions from legal drugs between March and August 2014.
Over 40 festivals will participate this year. Major festivals that have already pledged their support include Glastonbury, T in the Park, Secret Garden Party, Bestival, Isle of Wight, Lovebox and Parklife to name but a few.
You can find out more about this year’s campaign at The Guardian.