5-IT

How long the effects last and the drug stays in your system depends on how much you’ve taken, your size and what other drugs you may have also taken.

• 5-IT has been sold as a light brown or brown powder and tablets and capsules in various colours.

• Some 5-IT tablets are made to look like ecstasy tablets and sold as ecstasy even though they are 5-IT.

• As with any drug, you can never really be sure it contains what it says it does.

5-IT comes in different forms. It can be swallowed or snorted in lines. The powder can also be rolled up in a cigarette paper and swallowed (sometimes referred to as bombing). There is some evidence that suggests that some people have injected 5-IT, although this does not seem to be a common way of taking 5-IT.

Injecting any drug or sharing injecting equipment can be very risky, as it runs the risk of the injector catching or spreading a virus, such as HIV or hepatitis C. There is also the risk that veins may be damaged and that an abscess or blood clot may develop.

5-IT is similar to drugs like ecstasy and and amphetamines (like speed that can be addictive. Hence, it’s reasonable to assume that you could become addicted to 5-IT or 6-IT and suffer similar withdrawal symptoms if you’ve been using regularly.

Like drink-driving, driving when high is dangerous and illegal. If you’re caught driving under the influence, you may receive a heavy fine, driving ban, or prison sentence.

If the police catch people supplying illegal drugs in a home, club, bar or hostel, they can potentially prosecute the landlord, club owner or any other person concerned in the management of the premises.