Volunteers will be filmed taking Class A drugs for a live British television show described as a "radical" new science series.
Drugs Live, to be shown Channel 4, aims to show the effect of dangerous drugs like cocaine and ecstasy.
Although Class A drugs are banned in Britain, the volunteers will be taking them legally as they will be monitored in laboratory conditions. It's believed the volunteers will already be drug users.
Volunteers will be shown taking different drugs – likely to include Class A substances such as heroin, ecstasy, cocaine and LSD.
The show will also highlight the efffects of soft drugs like cannabis, as well as alcohol.
Channel 4 has a history of broadcasting controversial shows.
In the 1980s the station regularly showed violent films. A French film called Themroc had scenes of incest and cannibalism.
The station also caused outrage 1993 by broadcasting a lesbian kiss in popular soap Brookside.
In 2003, illusionist Derren Brown took part in a game of Russian Roulette, although it was later admitted that the bullets used were blanks.
Channel 4 defended the Drugs Live show with the station's chief creative officer Jay Hunt saying: "In an incredibly bold experiment we are going to be putting that to the test live, looking at the impact all of those substances have on the human body in a clinical environment.
"I believe Channel 4's future lies in pieces that take risks. Risks on new talent, risks on difficult subject areas, risks with style and execution. It's more important than ever that Channel 4 is prepared to challenge the status quo, to provoke debate and, above all, to be brave."
But Vivienne Pattison, director of campaign group Mediawatch-UK, fears that Channel 4 will not handle the issue carefully enough.
"I can't say it fills me with joy because Channel 4 have got a bit of a reputation for doing “educational” programmes that turn out to be sensationalist,' she said. She pointed to the recent show The Joy of Teen Sex, which she said was similar to 'soft-core porn."
Read more:
http://www.theage.com.au/entertainm...-british-tv-20110512-1ejyo.html#ixzz1M6T9W2WU
![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
