Recently, there has been a trend amongst party goers and lovers of Psychedelics towards legal alternatives to illicit stimulants and psychedelics; many a raver is discovering a multitude of goodies that are far more powerful than traditional herbal highs. These new legal highs come in various forms, some are still herbal, but some are synthetic (B.Z.P – "Party Pills" imported from New Zealand)



With the legal stimulants, the synthetic ones tend to give a stronger ‘high’ and last longer, but can have worse ‘come-down’ effects.

When it comes to legal Psychedelics however, there are lots of natural substances that are reported to be extremely strong. In particular, Salvia Divinorum seems to be a popular natural Psychedelic/ legal high and is available in different strength extracts as well as the milder raw dried leaf form. One retailer sells 5x, 10x, 15x and 20x salvia extracts, and quotes Salvia Divinorum in general as being one of their best selling legal highs.

However, Laughterpromotions.com do warn that although natural, the psychedelic effects of Salvia Divinorum can be strong, and that Salvia should be treated with respect and only taken by those that know what they are doing, ideally with a "sitter" – a sober friend – present.

Research has shown that many ‘party heads’ seem to have stopped taking illegal ecstasy pills entirely, often saying they used to take them most weekends. Frequently people quote concerns about long term health as one of the main reasons for the change, along with worries about criminal records.

Whatever the reason, there has been a recent upsurge in the number of ‘legal highs’ websites and high street headshops, and many people do seem to be changing from illegal drugs to legal highs that are sold openly over the internet and in the high street.

There have been concerns raised by the press and certain government bodies about the sale of some of these products, and it seems some of the currently ‘legal’ highs (like Salvia Divinorum for example) are possibly going to have their legal status reviewed in the future, but for now anyway the ‘legal highs’ industry seems to be experiencing strong growth.