Legally High

Legal doesn’t mean safe, states this documentary investigating the gradual takeover of internet-bought legal highs ahead of their more expensive, illegal counterparts. Not exactly a groundbreaking stand to take, but ‘Legally High’ goes a fair way towards looking into the problem.

The idea that media glamorisation is responsible for the high profile of these drugs is raised early on – a charge evaded by this film courtesy of some of the harsh, uncensored images shown. However, it does summarise and overdramatise: victims and villains are predictably deconstructed for us (users are desperate victims, the scientists who supply them ignorant and blasé).

Drug dealer Baxter, named and blamed as part of the problem, is actually the most interesting and revealing character in play: equal parts victim and tormentor, as cocky as he is wrecked. And with a scarily matter-of-fact family-man-cum-chemistry-kingpin behind it all, it’s more than a little ‘Breaking Bad’. Perhaps we can excuse the drama after all.