Three Myths About Legal Highs

In a nation where many substances have been made illegal, there has been a tendency for drug-users to seek out new, legal highs. The majority of the population seeking these legal highs is composed of teens and young adults who either cannot procure drugs like marijuana or want a cheap, legal means to attain recreational highs. Unfortunately, the internet can provide both a wealth of information and a preponderance of misinformation on the subject of legal highs. There are plenty of pranksters out there who have managed to get people to try smoking ordinary foods or substances in order to get a high that really produce no effect at all. Some of these substances might even be dangerous. Therefore, without further ado, I shall proceed to debunk a few of the most popular myths about legal highs.

Peanut Skins

There have been rumors floating around the net for quite a while that one can smoke the thin membrane found between a peanut and its shell. These are usually whitish to red in color, depending on whether the peanuts have been roasted or not. It would be a godsend if smoking peanut skins actually got you high, but unfortunately there are no active psychoactive compounds found in these membranes. You might experience a hazy buzz that lasts for about a minute, but this effect is characteristic of smoking nearly anything. It seems likely that someone wishing to play a joke chose a substance that not too many people are that familiar with as a natural and legal psychoactive. Many have tried and most have realized that smoking peanut skins is a myth.

Banana peels

I've seen plenty of rumors about a psychoactive substance called "banadine" found in banana peels. First of all, scientists are not likely to name a compound after the fruit or vegetable in which it is found. This is due to the fact that compounds exist in many other places in nature the majority of the time. Therefore, the word "banadine" should be a cue right off the bat that there is something wrong. Furthermore, there is actually a tutorial concerning how to extract "banadine" from banana peels, telling the reader that they must purchase several pounds of bananas for it to work. What follows is a chemical procedure that is based in science, but sadly inapplicable and a waste of time concerning bananas. According to Erowid.org, there are no psychoactive compounds in banana peels. So before you go blowing your money on twenty pounds of bananas to get an LSD-like trip, use some common sense.

Lettuce

There is some truth to lettuce being psychoactive. However, don't expect to get high by going to the store and eating an entire head of iceberg lettuce. The only potentially psychoactive lettuce out there is wild lettuce, lactuca virosa. It is classified as a mild sedative, and most users report on Erowid that it is not worth the trouble. Extraction of active compounds in wild lettuce is also ambiguous.

Those are three of the most popular legal high myths being promulgated by the internet currently. If you're that desperate for a high, then there are plenty of other ways to do it. And the ones that actually work might not hurt you or your wallet.