by Gus Cairns, with help from Matt Southwell, Grainne Whalley, Monty Moncrieff, Cathy Gillies, Andria Mordaunt, and numerous anonymous friends of Positive Nation

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Drugs can be fun: that's why people take them. But as everyone knows they can be dangerous too. Especially if your immune system is down and you're taking other prescribed drugs. In recent years our society has been flooded with new chemicals, and we may be using them

All photos posed by models.
Photos: Gordon Rainsford

unwisely, more like swigging neat vodka than sipping a Chardonnay.
just say 'whoo!'
"The best way to minimise the harm caused by drugs is to maximise the pleasure people get from them," says Matt Southwell of the Dance Drugs Alliance, a self-help group that campaigns for clubbers. "No one goes out in the evening intending to end up in A&E - it's not a good look! If you are having fun you are also less likely to be experiencing damage."
It doesn't help that the law and much of society continues to regard the use of anything other than tobacco or alcohol as wicked and/or sad. The Just Say No attitude to drugs is a slogan that turns off the very people it tries to target. Government policy is muddled. Home office policy recommends training bouncers to spot drug casualties in clubs. But the law gives the police powers to close clubs that

'knowingly' allow drugs to be consumed on the premises. So all the bouncers are put on the door to do searches.