I finally got round to visiting the Wellcome Collection’s new offering yesterday. The punsome High Society’ tackles the history and culture of recreational drug use.

I have to say, for an exhibition on stimulants, I found it somewhat unstimulating. The crux is that too many of the are exhibits are magazines or books – such as Edwin Drood and the writings of Thomas de Quincey – that tackle drug-related themes. Great to read, no doubt, but of little interest when held behind a glass screen.

Elsewhere, cabinets are filled with drug paraphernalia to marginally more interest. The most memorable item is undoubtedly the massive opium pipe that dominates the main room, and its smaller, homemade crack-pipe brethren that pepper the exhibition.

To get the most out of High Society, the visitor needs to acquire an added stimulant in the form of a guide booklet. This contains much more information than the cursory labels appended to exhibits. On my visit, virtually nobody else was taking advantage of this; they must have left with a very sketchy overview.

The scope of content also felt a little strange. The focus is very much on the historical use of drugs and the different substances used around the world. Far less space is given to the current picture, save a confusing graph at the end (and a couple of excellent diagrams by David McCandless showing drug spending in billions of dollars). It feels like a trick is being missed – with David Nutt continuing to make headlines, couldn’t room be found for a panel on the current hot issues? That said, the exhibition is an international one, and focusing on domestic drug topics may have looked out of place.

And perhaps I’m being a little unfair. Wellcome Collection has previously set a very high standard for it’s major exhibitions. While High Society doesn’t live up to previous shows (in my opinion), it still has an extremely broad mix of cultural items coursing through its veins that few other institutions could inject.

High Society has received plenty of glowing reviews elsewhere. I suspect this is partly thanks to the curator tours given on the press preview. Some incredible stories are on offer here, but you’re unlikely to uncover them without a guided tour. My advice would be to time your visit to coincide with one of the regular walk-arounds and you’ll get far more out of it.

So, worth a look, but you might want to merry yourself up on your stimulant of choice before going in.

High Society runs until February 27 at Wellcome Collection on Euston Road. Entrance is free. An events programme and lavishly illustrated book accompany the exhibition.