DEATHS linked to legal highs could surpass those related to heroin use within just two years, according to a new report.

The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) is to release a report this week calling for more to be done to combat the drugs, known as New Psychoactive Substances (NPS), while also calling for a "treatment tax" on alcohol.

Legal highs were linked to 97 deaths nationally in 2012 and hospital admissions rose by 56per cent between 2009-12, according to new CSJ data. The think-tank estimates that on current trends deaths related to legal highs could be higher than heroin by 2016, at around 400 deaths a year.

Drugs such as meow meow and Benzo Fury have been outlawed by the Government but other substances, such as alpha-methyltryptamine (AMT) are still legal and new drugs flood the market quicker than they can be banned.

The CSJ is asking police to adopt a similar policy to one used in Ireland, to close so-called "head-shops" which sell NPS, of which they estimate there are around 250 in the UK.

Kristin Rothert, head of clinical standards and quality at Bradford drug treatment charity the Bridge Project, said novel psychoactive substances (legal highs) are widely available over the internet, and in some shops. She said commonly used legal highs include 'Black Mamba' and 'Annihilation', with code names such as 'Bath Salts' and 'Plant Food' often given for others.

Ms Rothert said the Bridge Project had dealt with a significant rise in legal high, prescription drug and over-the-counter medication abuse in recent years, leading the organisation to re-design its Adult Service and Stimulant Service, extending the treatment and recovery programmes offered to new groups of individuals. The new Unity Change Programme is aimed at tackling the use, addiction and dependency of legal highs, cannabis and hallucinogenic drugs; stimulant drugs;over-the-counter medicines and addictions to medicines.

Ms Rothert said the new services are designed to meet the needs of a "diverse group of service users" requiring differing assessment processes, treatments and care pathways. She said some users are in fulltime employment and often don't realise that they have become addicted.

"People don't realise how quickly these drugs can become addictive and they don't always know what they're getting," she added. "When something is obtained on the internet often it's synthetic. With legal highs, one could be a stimulant and another could have a hallucinogenic effect."

The new service follows structured sessions with individuals and workers. Ms Rothert said the emphasis is on helping people to maintain a drug-free lifestyle. "Through peer-led support groups and activities we introduce service-users to people who have been addicts and have come through it," she said.

"The Unity Recovery Centre on Manningham Lane, which is part of Bridge, offers groups and activities designed to help people achieve and maintain a drug-free lifestyle. Specialist support helps them reduce medication and deal with underlying issues, and there is a strong network of recovery programmes and support groups."

Earlier this year West Yorkshire's Police and Crime Commissioner issued a warning to shopkeepers about the consequences of selling legal highs following raids on shops in Bradford and Leeds.

In March various substances and equipment police believed could be used to produce controlled drugs were seized when officers executed a warrant at a Bradford newsagents. The raid was part of an ongoing West Yorkshire Police campaign to tackle the harm caused by legal highs.

Mr Burns-Williamson called for laws to be tightened to reflect more legal highs being introduced into the market. He said: "The issue of legal highs is getting worse, we are seeing an increase in people dying, or being admitted to hospital, as a result of taking these substances.

"The sale of them needs to be urgently reviewed, with retailers facing harsher penalties if they are found selling them to minors."

He pledged to ask the Government to update policies and laws regarding such drugs, "to reflect the rapidly-changing problem we are facing with legal highs", and urged retailers to sign up to the Register of Responsible Retailers, which means they agree not to sell legal highs at all or to those aged under 18.

* The Bridge Project is currently seeking applications for its next Recovery Volunteer Training Course. Ms Rothert said suitable candidates will have had a previous substance misuse problems who have been "completely illicit drug-free for the last three months".

The course, starting in September, covers confidentiality, boundaries, safeguarding, communication skills. Those who successfully complete the course will be invited to apply to become a volunteer.

For more information contact Volunteer Co-ordinator Colin Boyle on (01274) 715860 or Colin.boyle@bradford.nhs.uk