''Drugs Live'' is an occasional British television documentary on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

about recreational drug use, and clinical trials into its effects, presented by Jon Snow and Dr

Christian Jessen Christian Spencer Jessen (born 4 March 1977) is a British celebrity doctor, television personality, and writer. He is best known for appearing in the Channel 4 programmes ''Embarrassing Bodies'' (2007–2015) and '' Supersize vs Superskinny'' (2 ...

Format

The show consisted of a one-hour debate, interspersed with explanations of brain-chemistry using a giant luminous brain, footage of a veteran raver taking ecstasy and dancing until 5 am, and interviews with three students.

Ecstasy trial

The first programme ''Drugs Live: The Ecstasy Trial'' was broadcast in two parts on 26 & 27 September 2012, about

MDMA 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly seen in Tablet (pharmacy), tablet form (ecstasy) and crystal form (molly or mandy), is a potent empathogen–entactogen with stimulant properties primarily used for Recreational dru ...

. The main guests were Professor Valerie Curran and Professor

David Nutt David John Nutt (born 16 April 1951) is an English neuropsychopharmacologist specialising in the research of drugs that affect the brain and conditions such as addiction, anxiety, and sleep. He is the chairman of Drug Science, a non-profit wh ...

. Curran and Nutt oversaw research at

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

in which volunteers took part in a

double blind In a blind or blinded experiment, information which may influence the participants of the experiment is withheld until after the experiment is complete. Good blinding can reduce or eliminate experimental biases that arise from a participants' expec ...

study in which some took 83 mg of MDMA, some took Vitamin C, and others a

placebo A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. In general ...

. Participants had their brains scanned using a

functional magnetic resonance imaging Functional magnetic resonance imaging or functional MRI (fMRI) measures brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow. This technique relies on the fact that cerebral blood flow and neuronal activation are coupled. When an area o ...

brain scanner whilst scientists asked them questions about their mood and memory. Five of the 25 volunteers from the trial appeared in the studio to recant their experience. The participants were not chosen at random. Among the participants were an ordained priest who, despite reporting feelings of euphoria claimed she felt disconnected from God; the novelist

Lionel Shriver Lionel Shriver (born Margaret Ann Shriver; May 18, 1957) is an American author and journalist who lives in the United Kingdom. Her novel '' We Need to Talk About Kevin'' won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2005. Early life and education Shriver ...

who felt the dose was too low and a retires SAS soldier who became paranoid and felt so bad the next day that he had to spend the afternoon in bed.

Cannabis Trial

The second programme ''Drugs Live: The Cannabis Trial'' was broadcast on 3 March 2015. The show consisted of journalists Jon Snow, Mattew Parris and

Jennie Bond Jennifer Bond (born 19 August 1950) is an English journalist and television presenter. Bond worked for fourteen years as the BBC's royal correspondent. She has most recently hosted ''Cash in the Attic'' and narrated the programme ''Great Britis ...

taking part in what channel four dubbed "a groundbreaking scientific trial". Participants tried two different forms of

Cannabis (drug) Cannabis, also known as marijuana among List of names for cannabis, other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both Recreational marijuana, recr ...

Skunk Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or ginge ...

and Hash. Jon Snow reported being "overwhelmingly frightened" while Matthew Paris stated that "Smoking skunk wasn't cool". Jenny Bond, on the other hand, stated: "The fact that I was perhaps hallucinating slightly was quite nice really, it was a very floaty feeling." Channel four filmed the studio trials before airing the show. However, the show did feature a live studio audience with varying views on cannabis. The panel briefly touched upon the drug's influence on music with one audience member stating, “A lot of my favourite music is

doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * ...

and that came from (Black) Sabbath’s vibe on cannabis.”

References

External links

Channel 4 official siteImperial College London page about the research
{{Cannabis in the United Kingdom Channel 4 original programming Drugs in the United Kingdom British works about cannabis 2012 British television series debuts 2015 British television series endings