News that the Drugs Minister wants to ban legal highs sold in head shops was warmly welcomed in Cork this week, following a recent conference held on the issue. Minister John Curran told the conference focusing on the issue that he wants the substances to be outlawed instead of regulated. Cork North Central TD and Minister for State Billy Kelleher welcomed the result and said that he was pleased that a universal response across Government departments was being coordinated.

"I have been concerned for some time by these so-called head shops, which are selling drugs under the label of legal highs or herbal highs to young people. We've seen more and more of these shops open in recent years," he said.

"What these shops aren't advertising are the potential dangers to a person's health that arises from the use of their products, not to mention the fact that they serve as a blatant stepping stone for young people to move on to stronger substances as a result of experimenting with their supposed legal highs," he added. He said that we should also look to the UK's response, where the sale of the products has been banned there.

Deputy Kelleher said that as a parent, he found it worrying to think that young children could walk into a head shop and "buy these products with ease and with no knowledge of the potential dangers, as the legal tag insinuates that the product is safe".

Personal issues

Senator Jerry Buttimer told the Seanad on Wednesday that he believed there were numerous reasons why people were buying products in head shops. He said they were mainly looking for a quick stimulation in their lives, "due to the fact that there is a lack of facilities in their local areas, unemployment is high, personal issues and a significant amount of boredom has set in".

Senator Buttimer quoted Dr Chris Luke of UCC during his speech, outlining that in the past few months, "we have seen a relentless rise in the number of seriously distressed young adults and teenagers being hospitalised due to head shop highs with panic, paranoia, delirium, psychosis and chest pain".

"In one weekend in January this year, five individuals were seen at the Mercy Hospital because of adverse reactions to drugs purchased at head shops in the city centre," the Senator said.

"The problem with head shops is the products they sell which seek to recreate the same effects as illegal and highly addictive drugs as cocaine, ecstasy and hashish. Some of these legal highs include Salvia Divinorum, synthetic cocaine, snow blow and charge," he said.

"I discovered that many of the products on sale state that they are not for human consumption. One of these products called, which I selected at random "Oceanic", that is available on their website says that the product will "Give you wave after wave of amazing euphoric sensations! A fantastic herbal high!," the Senator explained. "This product ‘Oceanic' is being sold as a bath salt. However, it is clear from this website that this product, which is just one example, is being used for human consumption and the people selling these products are fully aware of this fact," he added.

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