Internet videos are not just there for the fun things in life. Hidden among the millions of clips of Amy Winehouse fondling mice and ill-advised skateboard stunts are a few thought- provoking documentaries that will leave you wiser than they found you. The satellite channel Current TV is about to embark on a season of films about illegal drug use entitled Wasted, which casts light on some of the less well-known aspects of that increasingly widespread criminal pursuit.

The entire series consist of seven 90-minute films but the short online teasers are in themselves miniature masterpieces of documentary film-making. Making Cocaine (tinyurl.com/5qlx6z) reveals the unpalatable origins of the celebrity favourite, revealing how petrol and ammonia are its principal ingredients and making a mockery of those well-known figures who proudly sip fair trade coffee with their breakfast and insufflate decidedly non-fair trade cocaine after supper. In its five and a half minute running time it does more to discourage abuse of the developed world's favourite party drug than a dozen well-meaning EastEnders storylines.

Other highlights from the series include Ketamine is for Horses (tinyurl.com/68x4wq), an insight into the inexplicable popularity of the veterinary anaesthetic that most people, unless they were very attentive Archers listeners, might not be aware of. Laughing gas is another high that one might think was last in vogue during the Roaring Twenties but is growing in popularity across the UK. No Laughing Matter (tinyurl.com/5udnx5) reveals that the gas, like every intoxicant we choose to imbibe, can have some serious and unpleasant side-effects.

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