Understanding the prevalence of 'legal high' misuse in early adulthood

With the recent introduction of the Psychoactive Substances Bill in the United Kingdom, it is a useful time to retrospectively review the patterns of prevalence of the psychoactive products known as 'Legal Highs'. There has been emerging research and rapidly expanding political, public and media attention and awareness, yet comparatively little scientific discourse on the psychological aspects driving their consumption, beyond simply their legal status. This paper focuses on their usage patterns in the particularly vulnerable, but often-neglected period of young adulthood between the ages of 16-24, focussing on their prevalence, trends in pharmacology and psychological aspects of their usage and propensity for addiction. There is a greater skew of usage to young adulthood in legal highs than that seen in classical drugs of abuse. Although there are still significant research questions to be tackled, it is suggested that the interaction of legal high incentive value and their perception with aspects of enhanced risk taking in young adulthood, particularly impulsivity and sensation seeking, are of key significance, as opposed to any clear pharmacological mechanism for differing prevalence. While there is much further research to be performed on the contents and pharmacology of legal highs, the reasons for potentially lower levels of addiction are also discussed.