Legal Highs with Lethal Consequences
To the Point
KCRW
4.4 • 583 Ratings
🗓️ 8 May 2015
⏱️ 52 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
They’re called Legal Highs, drugs that mimic illegal substances like marijuana and cocaine, but are just chemically different enough to pass through customs on their way from labs in China and India. Now they’re causing a rash of overdoses in cities across the country. Are legalization and regulation the answer?
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From KCRW in Santa Monica and PRI, Public Radio International, this is To the Point. |
| 0:08.5 | Legal highs with lethal consequences. |
| 0:14.3 | I'm Barbara Bogave sitting in for Warren Ulney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International, |
| 0:18.9 | a daily look at the issues Americans care about |
| 0:21.1 | most. New York, Mississippi, and Alabama have issued health alerts after seeing a spike in |
| 0:26.5 | overdoses from new recreational drugs. They're called legal highs, and they're chemical compounds |
| 0:32.4 | that mimic illegal substances, but are just different enough to skirt existing laws. |
| 0:38.3 | Many come from Chinese factories, and as soon as they're outlawed, new ones rise in their |
| 0:42.3 | place. |
| 0:43.3 | How to stop the global rise of recreational drug innovation. |
| 0:47.3 | And on today's talking point, Starbucks promised to help its baristas finish college. |
| 0:52.3 | PR stunt or guide to making higher education more accessible for all. |
| 0:57.5 | First, the news. |
| 1:01.2 | Listen to KCRW's 24-hour all-news channel. |
| 1:04.9 | Stream BBC World Service, NPR and KCRW programs. |
| 1:09.5 | Continuous coverage on our mobile app or online at kCRW.com. |
| 1:17.2 | Support for To the Point comes from the members of KCRW and from the Public Radio International Program Fund. |
| 1:24.7 | And we're back with To the Point. I Barbara Bove in for Warren Allney. |
| 1:28.4 | Just ahead, new legal chemical compounds that mimic illegal drugs like pot and cocaine are pouring |
| 1:34.9 | into the country from labs in China and India, causing a rise in overdoses. Is legalization and |
| 1:41.4 | regulation the answer? And later on today's talking point, we check in on a Starbucks program to help its employees pay for college. |
| 1:48.8 | Has it paid off for baristas or does the hype outweigh the results? |
... |
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