A High By Any Other Name: Exploring the Motivations for Consumption of “Legal Highs”

ABSTRACT

A large number of legal, semi-legal, synthetic, and organic drugs are sold online or through commercial vendors as novelties, often labeled as “not for human consumption.” It is fairly common knowledge, however, that many, if not all, of the purchasers of such products buy them for personal use. This study conducted ethnographic interviews with 26 synthetic and organic drug users over a five month period. Using a grounded theory approach, the authors created a typology of users that fell into three general categories: Risk reducers (who saw these drugs as either safer or less likely to be detected than illegal drugs), plan “B” users (those who preferred illegal drugs but used these drugs when their preferred drugs were unavailable), and novelty seekers (who used these drugs experimentally, or simply for fun and recreation).

Notes

¹ “Spice” or synthetic marijuana usually contains chemicals that can include JWH-018, JWH-073, CP-47,497, JWH-200, among others (Carroll et al. 2014; Dargan 2011).

² DMT is a Schedule I substance according the federal government but plants containing DMT are not regulated (Labate 2012).

³ A “trip sitter” is the urban equivalent of a shaman guide who has experience with the drug and typically remains sober during the user’s experience. These individuals are there to prevent potential harm to the user and may also steer the user during the trip when unpleasant effects arise.

⁴ A popular urban legend contends that the seeds that are often sold for gardening purposes are sprayed with an emetic making them impossible to ingest for intoxicating purposes. A thorough search of literature does not support this claim (but see Halpern 2005).

⁵ Although Ephedra sinica is illegal for sale it is still likely present in many of these concoctions. A basic drug test kit purchased online showed positive results for amphetamine when the powder inside the capsules was tested. This is a common result for ephedrine-rich compounds (Davies et al. 2010).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Filip M. Wiecko

FILIP M. WIECKO, Ph.D., was an Associate Professor of Criminology at Texas A&M University–Commerce. He earned his B.A. in criminal justice and his M.A. in political science from the University of Nevada, Reno. His Ph.D. was in criminal justice from Washington State University. His research interests were criminology, quantitative methods, drug policy, public opinion, and the history of criminal justice. Dr. Wiecko passed away in January 2016.

William E. Thompson

WILLIAM E. THOMPSON, Ph.D., is Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Texas A&M University–Commerce. He earned his B.A. Ed. in sociology and history from Northeastern State University, his M.S. Ed. in sociology and history from Missouri State University, and his Ph.D. in sociology from Oklahoma State University. His research interests include qualitative sociology, popular culture, juvenile delinquency, and deviant behavior.

Bryan P. Parham

BRYAN P. PARHAM is a graduate student and teaching assistant completing his M.S. in sociology at Texas A&M University–Commerce. He received his B.S. degree with a major in sociology from Texas A&M University–Commerce. His research interests are deviant behavior, qualitative methods, and sociology of work and occupations.