Channel 4 Drugs live: The ecstasy trial 2 (Keith Allen finally turns up)

So here I am again. I said I'd do this blog, and I'm damn well doing it but there's people here and I'm drunk cos it's my day off tomorrow, so I'll do my best.
Why is Keith Allen being so shirty about his past drug use? Everyone knows he was a huge caner. He's coming off like a total prick. This former MP Evan Harris took an E to 'support scientific research.' Try telling that to your mum after a big Saturday night.
LOL my boyfriend's friend who was here just got picked up by his mum, sorry - girlfriend - and got in trouble cos they've been drinking all day. He basically just got forced to say goodbye and leave quick-smart. That was funny.
If Keith Allen hasn't had proper E since 1988, what the fuck was I taking in the 90s?
Isn't Keith Allen a bit old to be taking drugs? He's like an OAP. He's still moaning about the quality of the drugs. It's because you've taken so fucking many! That's why you can't feel anything.
Keith Allen just declared himself a 'renowned gurner'. Or, as I like to call it, a massive cunt. He's complaining about the editing like a Big Brother contestant. What a knobber.
Wicked, Dr Christian just told us, 'if you are going to do a pill, just do a bit and see how you feel.' Good advice. Just do a quarter like my friend SWIM.
The Tuesday blues; lol! Is that official medical terminology? Ha to that guy saying 'you need a good couple of days after to 'reflect'. Yes, reflect on a boxset of Breaking Bad and a packet of valium. That's not reflecting, it's just being a couch potato.
Ecstasy takes longer to recover from than cocaine; that's because cocaine makes you high for half an hour and E makes you high for a whole night. It's simple maths.
Captain Killjoy is telling us about all the bad bits. Mistress Mustard jacket (sorry, Professor Val Curran) is disagreeing.
I'll say it again: There's no doubt whatsoever E affects your long term memory. So does weed, so does booze, so does a traumatic event when you're younger. I agree with this Professor. That woman is kidding herself to think the effects are short term. I can't even remember my own phone number. I need to go to Derren Brown's memory palace and do a ram-raid.
SAS guy felt 'like an empty windsock' after doing E. Do you ever feel like a paperbag? Now he's speaking to Dr Adam Winstock. This is getting confusing. Windsock... Winstock. I think only Keith Allen can clear this one up.
I've seen these American MDMA therapy sessions on a documentary before. Surely the Feds should be onto her by now? Mind you, she is hiding up in the trees, like Katniss in Hunger Games. 'Let's do E and talk about your abusive father.' Um, no.
Fuck me, she looks wasted. Her eyes are all over the place, and she's stroking her leg. I'd be like 'let's talk about kittens.' Is the therapist high, too? They've got some good E (sorry, X) over there. Ha, she's got down-turned mouth, too. *esadface* Looking at you gurning isn't going to help change minds, to be honest.
Jon Snow: 'it's a big nut to crack.' Why do they keep saying things based on the guest's names? I think it's cos everyone's off their tits.
Oh Christ, it's the plastic glowing brain again. Save us.
OK we're onto the ex-politician taking the E now. He's doing it all in the name of science, like Walt. He looks confused. He's not feeling 'loved up.' He's fighting against it! He is gurning, though. So all I've learned from this show is that what I've learnt from this is if you're a boring bastard or a miserable killer you won't get much out of a pill.
Was Keith Allen on a pill or what, did we ever even find out?! He's a fucking sourpuss.
Oh we're now hearing what the people in the survey said. Did they fill in the survey when they were high?
Keith Allen is bragging about having decent drug connections. What a fucking loser. Johnny 'Country Life' Rotten did the same thing on Question Time and it was the same feeling of your dad going 'this has got a good beat'. Grow up, beardy. Lily must be hiding behind a pillow right now.
'Are you a drugs counsellor?' 'No, I'm a substance misuse practitioner.' Christian gave him short shrift after that.
I was expecting a lot more from tonight's show but it was just more of the same old drivel. What was the point of it? Just to piss off the Daily Mail? 
Let's face it; those who are drawn to drugs are going to do drugs, and those who aren't, won't. More information, yes, but a giant plastic brain and a showboating Keith Allen? It's not science, and it definitely aint cricket.

Channel 4 Drugs live: The ecstasy trial

Hahahaha, lovely. Drugs! Live! Except they're not live. They filmed it before, presumably in case someone died.
So Keith Allen on an e isn't all that shocking. A pregnant Fearne Cotton on ecstasy is shocking. Jedward on an e is shocking (half would be enough for them, I'm sure). Anne Widdecombe on an e, that I'd pay to see.
Host Jon Snow - why doesn't he get involved?! He's always in disaster movies, isn't he, declaring the end of the world. Hold on, isn't he in Human Traffic? I'm pretty sure someone has a weird trip out and Jon Snow is dancing in the middle of the club. It's all adding up, He's a secret pill muncher.
They are giving them 83 milligrams (what does that mean? These measures as as incomprehensible as alcohol units) of specially prepared ecstasy. Normally when someone 'specially prepares' ecstasy, it's with brown sugar. NB. 'ecstasy' is a lot harder to spell than it looks.
Dr Christian Jessen! Obviously a pillhead. The first patient is gurning. He says he feels 'calm and general wellbeing and feels lovely.' Yes, there's a reason it's called ecstasy and not 'misery'. That comes later.
So they are giving some placebos and some E and then asking them how they felt when their friend died - ew.
In all seriousness, it is time to properly investigate ecstasy. Let's face it; enough of us will be finding out the effects in about 30 years time, probably in the form of severe Alzheimer's.
Here's what I know about ecstasy. I used to do a lot. I've seen someone take it and say 'why don't they put this in the water?' The same person said, 'I want to give this to my mum.' Ecstasy is one of the most harmless, non-addictive and fun drugs there is. It's not to say people don't die... they do. But it should be up for adults to decide if it's worth the risk, as they do with smoking, which provide no pleasure, and jumping out of planes, which is just stupid. It's time for drug takers (like bisexuals) to come out of the closet and say, 'It's not that big a deal.'
This woman patient says she 'got loads of happy memories back.' Er.. where's the bad side? Oh I know, next Tuesday. Aw, she's crying with happiness. But she feels disconnected from God. Oh well, do another pill, that should sort it out.
How many people are going to come off this trial and go find their nearest dealer?
I can't think of anything worse than being stuck in a scanner on E! Just looking at that machine makes me anxious.
That bit where John Snow said 'take us deep inside the brain' and parted the massive plastic brain was the lols. It's like something off Brass Eye.
Gap yah kid is saying he took E last on Friday and it made him feel 'at one with himself.' You parents must be proud. Don't admit you're a pillhead on TV! It might hinder your job prospects.
LOL to the jaw clenching diagram. Jon Snow just said GURNING. Lolololololololol.
How can anyone not enjoy a feeling of euphoria? It's like saying you don't like crisps. Only Morrissey would say such a thing.
My boyfriend can't stop laughing at the light up brain. Lightupvirginbrainwave. Is it Christmas?
Seratonin! This has just gone like Human Traffic. My boyfriend is certain they're trying to sell us some E. He just said 'are they going to mention the incessant looking for things and not being able to go for a wee?' Maybe later. How about the electric shocks in your brain and the nightmares where you're paralysed? I feel like I've been on this ecstasy trial for about 15 years now. And I'm still not skinny.
I never even knew e came from a tree until THIS YEAR. Which proves that there's not much info on ecstasy, because I've read a whole book in it (incidentally, the writer of said book 'Ecstasy Reconsidered' died in a car crash).
I never knew it used to be called empathy, either. Trust the DEA to shut down the 15 years of fun times. Probably because no one wanted to go to war when they were on it. They were too busy listening to Darude. Someone just said 'disco biscuits' and it sounded as quaint as 'ghetto blaster.'
OK they're giving it to a former SAS soldier now. RELAX. 'I didn't want nothing to do with it.' I've heard people saying that about E a lot. Some people don't like losing control, but in some ways you're more in control that with booze - you can drive a car, for example (JUST KIDDING). Soldier: 'I started getting the hump with it' - LOL. He didn't have a good experience because he was fighting against it. It's like someone going incessantly, 'are you alright? Can you feel it? Can you feel it?' Just get on with it, FFS. Enjoy those free drugs, misery guts. 4% of takers don't like it. That's 96% who are happy customers!
No long term effects? My own two eyes (and poor memory) would tell me otherwise.
Ha, the guy in the studio has got his gurn on. Where the fuck is Keith Allen?
Patient: 'the pink door looks really pink.' What's worse, people talking about their drug experiences or people talking about their dreams?
A woman just said 'an entire pallet of vocabulary'. And she's not even high.
Dr Christian has come to tell us about DEATH. A man called Parrott is telling us about the downsides. People are NOT aggressive on E. I've accidentally befriended someone who'd snogged my boyfriend a few weeks before whilst on E back in Northampton in the 90s. I stopped punching people as a teenager when I started doing E and it was no coincidence.
He's right about the memory. All drugs impair your memory. Including booze. With E, though, you'll never have a whole section of the night missing though, and you probably won't accidentally end up on New Years Eve getting a cab to sleep with your ex-boyfriend who likes Doctor Who. You'll be too busy watching quiz shows and listening to hard house.
Ooh, there's a guy who's son has died now. Buzzkill. You don't see Leah Betts dad about much these days, do you? He used to be worse than Mitch Winehouse for self-publicity.
This 'Shabs' guy is more like it. He's been taking E since he was 14 and it's not done him any harm, ha. He seems perfectly OK!
I prefer these people who like doing E and staying in. Oh, it's just a cover for their homosexuality. Bless. (Blowjobs don't count if you're on E.)
It doesn't even need to be discussed that doing e enhances your friendships. Just staying up for 12 hours with someone enhances your friendship, and being able to be more honest, plus a heightened feeling of empathy enhances your friendships. Until a week later when that person is still on your couch demanding cups of tea.
This Shabs is an eloquent chap. Why are all the e-heads either really posh or thick as fuck?
It's all over! That was kind of boring, and I said too much. Do we get the comedown show tomorrow? And where the fuck is Keith Allen.
For all you need to know about ecstasy, just watch a few MTV Dancefloor charts presented by Russell Brand. It's like digging up a 90s time capsule. What with Matt Alwright getting a bottle of piss in the face, this has been a good night for TV, but this show could have done better. It was too sanitised. I want to see people vomiting and picking the E out of it to take it again. Let's see Jon Snow pick the bones out of that.
I guess I'll be blogging this tomorrow then! It's good to be back.

Banged Up Abroad (Locked up abroad)

I’m often so busy talking about the shows I don’t like on here, I forget to champion the ones I do. Banged Up Abroad (also called Locked Up Abroad overseas) is a hidden gem, stowed away on the National Geographic channel (me neither). From the title I’d think it was a show like Road Wars, featuring drunks getting nicked in Magaluf. I can assure you it is NOTHING like that, so don’t let the title put you off.
90% of the time, the show follows the same format, which is as follows: person struggles for money in hot country. Person meets X, who offers them the chance to earn big bucks smuggling drugs. Person goes for it, panics a bit, then gets caught.
The format is so simple, and it’s almost the same every week, but what makes it so compelling is that it’s real people telling their stories. Half the show is them being interviewed telling you how it happened, and half is a ‘reconstruction’ of events.
One of the things I like best about Banged Up Abroad is the quality of the lookalikes they use for their reconstructions. You’re so used to reconstructions being almost comically shit, that these ones are actually an art form in comparison. On more than one occasion I’ve thought it was actually the same person as the actor. They really, really make the effort with them, which makes it feel all the more real- especially as sometimes they’ll show you the actual crime photo of the person getting caught with the drugs in the airport and you can see how the lookalike is dressed exactly the same; they really care about the detail.
There’s always a scene where the person gets caught at the airport, and you always know it’s going to happen, but you still feel like you’re there with them when they feel that hand on their shoulder. Half the show is just build up to that moment. Sometimes they get through once or twice and that makes them greedy. I’ve seen ones where people have been conned into it, ones where people have swallowed bundles of coke. Then there’s what happens to them when they’re in prison; and often it’s horrific. Often they do several years before they get out of the most horrendous of jails. I saw one recently where the guy became a junkie and contracted HIV. Grim stuff.
One of the best episodes I saw was of a couple telling their story, and they always give their interview in front of a black background, and at the end, they drew the curtain back, and you realised they were still inside! It was so horrendous, because normally you’re waiting to find out how many years they did. It was a brilliant twist. The girl was like this Manchester raver type, everything was ‘safe’ and ‘wicked’, and it was so weird to think of her still in there.
Sometimes they deviate from the usual formula- we saw this amazing one where this guy got kidnapped by rebels in the jungle and they kept him for months. He told them he was dying of prostate cancer to freak them out and kept shoving a key up his nose so they thought his nose was bleeding from the cancer. So much stuff happened in that episode, it was like a mini film. He was the most amazingly brave person; he was like Indiana Jones.
The whole concept seems like such a simple idea, and didn’t even sound appealing to me at first, but it really is the storytelling that drags you in, and the thought that it could be you. Just one bad decision is all it takes to change the course of your life forever.
I recommend.

Reality: Celebrity Rehab

I downloaded the 3rd series of the American TV show Celebrity Rehab, mainly for Heidi Fleiss and I can heartily recommend it. I thought it would be pretty rubbish, but actually, it's compulsive viewing.
Firstly, it's fun seeing celebrities (or anyone) doing drugs on TV because it's a bit naughty. Secondly, the kind of celebrities who do drugs tend to be a bit more interesting than those who don't (to illustrate, Courtney Love is more interesting than H from Steps) Thirdly, these celebrities are under extreme pressure, so it makes for interesting TV.
I have no idea who most of these celebrities are, but obviously I knew Heidi (coming off meth!), who I like, and I also knew some arsehole off America's Next Top Model, who I remember loathing with a passion when she was a contestant on it. Turns out she was abused as a child, so that's why she was such a dickhead. And now I don't mind her! Also in there; some guy from Alice in Chains coming off heroin (the puke was just delighful) some country singer with big boobs who had a not entirely convincing seizure in the 2nd episode, someone off the Real World, some woman who was raped by her popstar dad, and a reluctant Dennis Rodman (who's been sent there by the courts for domestic violence). I hate Dennis Rodman, he's such a crap reality contestant because he gives you nothing, he's just front.
I'm two episodes in and they're about to put Tom Sizemore in there, who I last saw in a porno doing shitloads of coke with about 20 prostitutes (I can't remember where I watched that, but I remember a considerable amount of detail from it!) and having the time of his life, now he's like an husk of a man, totally broken and looking about 70, so I guess things caught up with him. And Heidi's his ex! And she's going to go mental.
Dr Drew, whoever he is, presides over the who thing looking rather serious, but I wouldn't say no to him being my doctor, he's got a steely sexiness about him. There's also some counsellor bloke who looks like Freddy Krueger on his day off.
It's basically like A Million Little Pieces with celebrities. All in all, it's a reality mix from heaven. Find it, watch it, get addicted.

Holloway (The prison, not the road)

Missed the first one of these, I think.
I used to live one minutes walk from Holloway prison. Now I live but ten minutes away. So it's interesting to have a nose around and see what's ganning on inside. It's a fairly normal looking building, not very scary. I don't think they'd shoot you if you tried to escape, like in Alcatraz.
The first thing that struck me about the inmates was; chav attack! I don't think they'd appreciate my indie schtick in there. Luckily I'm a law abiding citizen so I have no need to worry. Ahem!
Nice; one of the girls was jailed for smashing a glass in someone's face after downing ten pints of lager. Classy.
Hold up! They have a swimming pool?!!! A free gym! Three meals a day! I want to go into a Daily-Mail style rant about holiday camps. But it's the people that really make the place, and they really make me want to be a good, good girl.
It's funny the doors are painted pastel pink, isn't it, like a little homage to femininity in the face of extreme brutality.
Why would someone smash up the TV in their cell three times? I'd rather smash up both my legs than my TV. Their TVs were MASSIVE too, and they get to watch telly ALL night! Result.
Urgh... I hate hearing women say 'bird'; it really offends me. It's like watching a woman self-harm. I know it's the least of their problems in there, but it speaks volumes about having no respect for yourself.
The show was quite interesting. It's funny how long the sentences you get for smuggling drugs, as opposed to acts of violence, isn't it? The Estonian drug smuggling girl was cute, seemed smart and was probably just desperate; I felt sorry for her stuck in there with some of the others. The actual conditions in the prison seemed OK. But then they should be. It's London, not the third world. Part of the punishment is being away from home; your liberty denied, not torture.
Even so, 12 women have committed suicide in prison in the last three years, so it can't be that cushy.
One girl said she enjoyed being in prison and was 'gutted to leave next week'. She said she felt 'safe' locked in. She got 4 months for assaulting a police officer and possession of a knife. Hardly a tough sentence, is it? The day she got let out, she got into trouble with the police all over again.
It was actually very sad what some of these young women had been through. Some of them have never had a chance. Women in prison is certainly a feminist issue. But that doesn't make me feel any better if one of 'em smashes a glass in my face.

MTV: Pete Doherty in 24 Hours

I'm a bit behind on this one, but I only just read about it in Heat (yeah, yeah) and watched it on the MTV site. Why do I do it to myself?
I went into this show hating Pete Doherty passionately. I hated the way he treated his band, and I hated his mentality; blaming everyone but himself for being a screw-up. But worse, I hate the apologists around him, treating him like an incorrigible little scamp, not capable of making his own decisions, whereas the truth is, he's unreliable because he's a drug addict. The whole premise of the show 'will he turn up' is patronising; will he turn up, or will he be too busy stuffing heroin into his bloodstream (as it turned out, I think he combined the two)? Lovely. Very moral of you, MTV.
His 'friend' Anthony who wanted him to do the catwalk show (to advertise HIS label) clearly has his own agenda. I never did buy that libertine dream.
Oh dear; it was worse than I thought. Doherty looked like death, like Jarvis Cocker reimagined by Tim Burton then thrown in the dustbin for 75 years. His house made Edward Scissorhands' derelict castle look chi-chi, with intermittent electricity and drawing on the walls. I stopped drawing on the walls around about aged 3.
Aside from that, he's totally lost his marbles too, rambling on about ghosts throwing a party in his house, a deer's head being dumped in there, and a half-man half beast 'werewolf thing' sleeping in one of his cars.
Is he fit to look after all those cats? I sound like the Daily Mail myself, but he doesn't seem capable of looking after himself, contradicting himself and going off on wild tangents. He seemed vulnerable and MTV were exploiting him.
When he said he spent Christmas alone, and then was scrabbling through his rent demands and saying he sleeps in the chair, I just felt very sad for him.
The rest of the show had all the authenticity of Peaches Geldof's magazine programme, i.e. none. The 'tension' was non-existent. Will Carl and Pete perform together? Who gives a shit, they're both hopeless. Their problem was they believed their own hype.
It was a bit disturbing when Pete looked like he was having a fit in the back of the cab and everyone just laughed at him. The state of him when he did that gig was disgusting, he was caked in sweat and looked off his head. The fans are culpable as far as I'm concerned; it's just a freak show.
Oh he did duet with Carl. So that's alright then. The whole show was a weird mish-mash of fake, juxtaposed with the whole Pete bit which was so tawdry. It's fair enough having a laugh at Jodie Marsh; she knows what she's in for. Or Peaches; she's an easy target, and I'm sure she can take it. But Pete looks headed for death to me. And yeah, I used to hate him. But after this; I just feel sorry for him. He's a state. He makes Winehouse look like Barbados Barbie and he needs help.

Horizon: Is alcohol worse than ecstasy?

And of course the answer is, yes and no. But that's the short answer.
On tonight show they compared 20 drugs on the criteria: what the drug does to the person who takes it, addictiveness and consequences to society. Based not on myth, on science! You can't argue with science. Well you can if you're frightened of the tabloids, and there will still be people who will throw their hands in the air.
I didn't know even there were even 20 types of naughty drugs! I thought there were about five. I'm so innocent.
So here's the chart, fact fans. 1. is the most dangerous.
20. The least dangerous drug. Khat. I've never heard of it. Not illegal.
19. Poppers. Anyone who likes doing that should be shot. Absolutely disgusting. The smell of them at festivals or in clubs gives me a headache.
18. Ecstasy! Well, who'd have thought it. Me, actually, as I've read up on it as well as having watched a fair few documentaries about it. There's a lot of mythology surrounding ecstasy (the spinal thing, brain damage etc but it's mostly scare stories). Wow, 27 deaths a year though. That's quite a lot. I think Leah Betts was the 'best' anti-ecstasy advert ever. Because 'it could be you'. But in reality, you're more likely to die angling, and that's a fact. Death is mainly due to dehydration, or mixing it with other drugs. I've heard it's quite good fun and stopped football hooligans beating each other up back in the day. Sounds alright. They gave it to people in a lab! It can't be that bad, can it? The law is a load of rubbish really, it's arbitrary. A class A drug has no lasting effects, is not addictive, and makes people hug each other. It's just got a bad press. Oh and people's brains go back to normal after a year. So that's handy to know, E heads. Go do more E. Just try not to die.
17. GHB. My ex boyfriend got spiked with this when we went to Ibiza when I was 17. He accidentally knocked a drink over and some smirking barmen gave him a freebie drink that nearly crippled him. He was nearly paralysed and laid up in bed for three days but unusually horny. We read a leaflet on it whilst we were still there and realised what had happened. Horrible stuff. Keep an eye on your drinks, folks.
16. Steroids. Gross. Surely they should be higher?
15. Methylphenidate. They give this to kids for ADHD. And it's more harmful than E, according to science. Reassuring, no?
14. LSD. Someone who I hadn't seen for 12 years emailed me today and used to dish out acid like they were lovehearts. The joys of growing up in Northampton. So I don't think you really get acid these days. 83,000 people use it?!!!! Who??? Who is using it?! I don't find melting toilet doors that pleasurable myself. Your hands become fascinating though. So I've heard.
13. 4MTA. I've never heard of it. 33 x more powerful than E, but no eurphoric high. Hmm. Sounds rubbish.
12. Solvents. HOW can that not be higher?! Solvents are manky! 50-60 deaths per year. What a way to go. How depressing. I had an American friend at university who used to do 'whippets' sucking aerosols out of a balloon, I seem to recall. I told her she was insane. I don't know about you, but i wouldn't want my mum to find me dead with a can of Sure in my hand. Absolutely minging.
11. Cannabis. How can cannabis be higher than solvents!? That's crazy. Cannabis grows from the ground and kills no one. Don't get me wrong, I do not smoke dope (or anything) and I find it very dull. Stoned people don't speak very much, which makes socialising more difficult. More than that, I have seen dope destroy people, by just making them apathetic in every area of their life. I think it is highly addictive. But I've never quite believed these 'cannabis made me crazy' stories. I always thought you must have it in you anyway. I think generally, people can smoke dope socially, just like someone who'd have a drink, and just get on with their lives. It definitely shouldn't be illegal, if cigarettes aren't.
10. Buprenorphine. A heroin substitute. Sounds like being between a serious rock and a hard place.
9. Cigarettes. They kill one fifth of the population! Shit! Why don't they ban it? of course I know why, money, money, money. 114,000 deaths a year! Smoking ALONE kills more than suicide, car crashes, drugs, HIV, and homicide COMBINED. The punchline is, it doesn't even GET YOU HIGH! People are INSANE. I remember my friends starting to smoke when we were about 15 and I just pitied them. Unbelievable stupidity. I feel like calling up my mum and screaming at her for starting again.
8. Amphetamines. Do you want to stay up all night, and even when you want to go to sleep, you won't be able to? Also helps you slim, but makes you anxious. Yuck.
7. Benzodiazepine. Valium and stuff. How can this be more dangerous than fags? How can speed be? Fags kill 114,000 people a year! I'm still shocked. I shouldn't be. I work for a cancer charity!
6. Ketamine. Mmm, horse tranquiliser. Tasty! Do you want to go down the rabbit hole? I didn't even know ketamine even killed people. I thought it just made them think everyone was a Pokemon. Luckily, I think people are put off by the whole horse thing. Neigh!
5. Booze. I thought this would be number one. Socially, I think booze has a lot to answer for. Booze can make a normal person aggressive, change people's personality, booze can destroy people's lives. It's only the fact that drink has always been around that we tolerate it. Can you imagine if they tried to ban booze! Haha. Booze causes 40% of casualty admissions. Booze is bad in large doses, but again, it's alright if you're sensible. What can you do? Some people are always going to go too far. Apparently it's better to 'drink constantly' than binge drink! Nuts.
4. Methadone. Another opiate/ heroin replacement. 295 deaths a year. That's a lot.
3. Barbituates. Prescribed drugs, but an OD kills you easily. Treats insomnia (by killing you, by the sounds of things.)
2. Cocaine. Expensive. Addictive. Turns you into a twat. Crack cocaine. Even more addictive. Turns you into a prostitute. Best avoided I think.
1. Heroin. As bad as it gets. How could anyone even ever try it? No high could be worth it. I don't care how comfy and cosy it makes you feel. I feel very sorry for anyone on it. I think it's poverty driven, mainly. It's just very, very sad.
So that's that. Will any laws change? No. So people will just make up their own minds. As per usual, then.