The YouTube channel tries out a different drug every week, teaching its online viewers about the dos and don'ts of what to do when high
DRUGS are being tried and tested in a maverick YouTube channel aiming to educate young people.
From speed, cocaine, magic mushrooms and LSD, the hosts on the Drugslab channel take the substances on camera, charting the effect it has on their body.
It's a bold move - and one whose third biggest audience now comes from the UK.
Founder Jelle Klumpenaar said he wanted to use the power of the video sharing platform to help educate young people on drugs - with the hosts often saying - "we explore what drugs do to the body - so you don't have to".
The 24-year-old he wanted to harness the way that young people used the Internet, saying: "They use it as a way of learning about the world, yet they’re highly selective in terms of what they’ll engage with – and that depends almost entirely on the person delivering the information.
"And if you’re curious about something these days, you look online."
The hosts include Rens Polman, Nellie Benner and Bastiaan Rosman, who first discuss the chemical composition of the drug, before monitoring stats including body temperature and heart rate.
The hosts do not try drugs that are immediately habit-forming like heroin, with all substances tried on camera tested first.
But while the show's creators argue that it is for an educational, purpose, and that is is supported by BNNVARA, a Dutch broadcasting association, concerns have been raised over the way drugs are discussed.
Elizabeth Burton-Phillips, the founder of the UK drugs charity DrugFAM, said she was concerned about the show, saying: "I come from a teaching background.
"I know how vulnerable and easily led young people are. The presenters are saying, ‘We’re all right, we’re not damaged in any way,’ but what right do they have to do that? There is absolutely no guarantee.
"What really bothers me is how they are trying to normalise drug use."
It comes after the realities of drug-taking in the UK was revealed as a man was photographed, slumped and surrounded by needles.
Fears around the drug fentanyl have also grown after it was reported to be 50 times stronger than heroin.
The highly addictive prescription painkiller has been branded "public enemy number one" by cops and social workers in the States.
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