A GOVERNMENT crackdown on 'legal highs' does not go far enough, a drugs expert warned last night.

Hospital admissions due to people taking the substances have increased tenfold in Bradford.

And there are concerns that more needs to be done to tackle the issue, particularly the availability of the drugs on the internet.

T&A COMMENT: NEW POWERS TACKLING LEGAL HIGHS WELCOME

A ban on all new synthetic drugs was announced in the Queen's Speech yesterday, with producers and suppliers of "legal highs" now facing up to seven years in prison.

The legislation introduces a blanket ban to prohibit and disrupt the production, distribution, sale and supply of new psychoactive substances, and give authorities greater powers to stop newly created legal highs spreading on the streets as well as tackling so-called "head shops" which sell the substances.

MORE TOP STORIES

 

The Psychoactive Substances Bill will also include a provision for civil sanctions to tackle suppliers of NPSs in some cases, as well as powers to seize and destroy the products.

Jon Royle, chief executive of the Bradford-based Bridge Project, which provides support services to drug users, said legal highs were a significant concern and an increasing number of young people had contacted the project with problems through them.

Mr Royle said there had been a worrying increase nationally in deaths from legal highs.

He said: "We have continued to see the trend of increased use of legal highs, though it is not at the same level as heroin or crack cocaine, and we welcome the legislation.

"However, the concern remains that these substances will still be accessible via the internet. Implementing this legislation does not mean we are going to be seeing an end to these drugs. There is still an underground market for legal highs which have been banned, like MCat.

"The next big challenge is to stop the supply of these drugs via the internet."

Mr Royle added: "We still have to educate young people to the facts and dangers and prevent them from taking them in the first place, taking the excitement and thrill out of it, and recognising there will always be casualties who will need treatment services provided.

"It is not a clear-cut picture. Often people are mixing legal highs with traditional dangerous drugs like heroin, or with alcohol, which increases the dangers."

He added: "Like all service providers, we are concerned about the growing austerity measures and the long term impact they are going to have on treatment services."

Dr Brad Wilson, accident and emergency consultant at Bradford Royal Infirmary, said the department had seen a tenfold increase in people admitted with complications after taking the over-the-counter substances.

He said: “Legal highs can carry serious health risks. The chemicals they contain have in most cases never been used in drugs for human consumption before. This means they haven’t been tested to show that they are safe.

“Patients affected range from those in their early teens, all the way up to people in their mid-30s. They present with a whole range of conditions, from anxiety and depression at one end of the spectrum to suicidal thoughts, drop in consciousness and cognitive abilities, cardiovascular instability and neurological dysfunction. Some are even violent and aggressive. The majority of patients require admission until their condition is stabilised.”

Bryan Dent, West Yorkshire Police's drugs co-ordinator, said: "We welcome the announcement of a blanket ban on new psycho-active substances.

"West Yorkshire Police has been running Operation Nightshot since 2012, a multi-agency campaign aimed at raising awareness of the potential dangers of using these substances.

"As part of this campaign, we have used existing legislation in innovative ways to prosecute suppliers and protect consumers, including obtaining a High Court Order banning a business in Bradford from stocking or selling 'legal highs'.

"There is a misconception that because these substances are currently 'legal' that they are safe to use which is simply not the case. The blanket ban on these substances will bring them in line with other controlled drugs and equip the police with the powers to tackle their use and supply."