YOU HIPPY CRACKPOTS!

Glastonbury revellers out of their heads on legal high linked to 17 deaths

‘More dangerous than cannabis’

AS the sun rose over Glastonbury yesterday, many revellers eschewed a fried breakfast in favour of something much more potent – ‘hippy crack’.

Unaware – or dismissive – of the potentially deadly side effects, festival-goers were seen inhaling the dangerous drug from balloons before morning had even broken over the Somerset campsite.

they were ignoring warnings from organisers who have urged visitors to avoid the drug, which can cause impaired judgement, dizziness and even heart attacks.

the abuse of nitrous oxide gas – known as laughing gas or hippy crack – has become popular in recent years, especially among the middle classes, and increasing numbers of Glastonbury revellers have been using it.

It is popular because it is cheap – a single hit costs around £1.50 – and easy to get hold of. Inhaling the gas produces a short-lasting euphoria that heightens the senses and gives users a feeling of disconnect from their bodies.

however, drug charities warn it can be dangerous, as the drug is especially risky when mixed with alcohol or other substances and it can be hard tell how much can be taken safely.

Seventeen deaths were linked to the use of laughing gas in the UK between 2006 and 2012. the drug works by dissolving in the blood- stream, cutting the amount of oxygen flowing to the brain and other vital organs.

It has been linked to a drop in blood pressure and can lead to fainting and heart attacks when used regularly.

Some doctors have gone as far as to claim that regular users are playing Russian roulette with their health – risking chronic depression, brain lesions and bone-marrow illnesses, as well as dicing with death.

Dr Ian hamilton, a lecturer in mental health at York University, warned: ‘Nitrous oxide is seen as benign but can be more dangerous than cannabis, particularly among young teenagers and naive people at festivals trying it for the first time.

‘People have died after taking nitrous oxide, from using surgical masks and plastic bags over their faces to increase the effect. the drug has affected their judgment and they have kept them on too long and asphyxiated.’

As well as being inhaled from balloons, nitrous oxide is sold in aluminium cartridges, which are inserted into a can.

Piles of these silver cartridges have become a familiar sight at festivals all over the country – two tons of them were picked up after Glastonbury in 2014.

the supply and importation of nitrous oxide was made illegal under the Psychoactive Substances Act in May last year.

But because the gas can have other uses, dealers get around the law by marketing it as a whipping agent for desserts and whipped cream.