ONE of the dangers of 'legal highs' - which are legal no more, following new legislation introduced last week - is that people who use them underestimate the health risks involved.

Police warn that some of the substances are stronger than Class A drugs, with side effects including heart palpitations, psychosis and seizures, and the consequences can be fatal.

Bradford's Lifeline Project, which helps people with alcohol and drug abuse, has been dealing with increasing numbers of people using so-called legal highs.

Faz Hafiz, Community Services and Diversity Lead at Lifeline, said the most commonly used one was called Spice.

"It's used in a range of different drugs and mimics the effects of cannabis," he said.

"It leaves some individuals feeling either relaxed and giggly or very paranoid."

Suppliers of so-called legal highs, that mimic the effects of drugs such as cocaine, cannabis and ecstasy, now face up to seven years in prison, after the substance was outlawed last week.

The blanket ban on previously legal highs now criminalises the production, distribution, sale and supply of the new psychoactive substances, or designer drugs, which became popular on the drug scene in 2008 and 2009.

In Rochdale nine people fell ill in the week leading up to the ban after taking the substance, including a 24-year-old man who suffered a cardiac arrest after taking a substance called Clockwork Orange.

On the day the Psychoactive Substances Act became law, police seized a haul of so-called legal highs, worth thousands of pounds on the street, from a Bradford shop. It was among six premises in Bradford and 35 across West Yorkshire which were checked on the day such substances were legally banned.

Detective Constable Jamie Hudson, of West Yorkshire Police's Protective Services Crime department, said officers had visited shops, garages, other retail premises and 'head shops,' with the aim of removing Psychoactive Substances from public use.

He said: "These products are very dangerous because nobody knows what is in them."

Official analysis published in April found that deaths linked to so-called 'legal highs' more than tripled in two years, with a total of 76 recorded in England and Wales over a decade from 2004.

The new legislation makes it illegal to produce, supply, offer to supply, possess with intent to supply, or import and export psychoactive substances, known as legal highs.

Police have new powers to shut down 'headshops' and UK-based online dealers, helping to protect potential users from harm and communities from anti-social behaviour.

Minister for Preventing Abuse, Exploitation and Crime Karen Bradley said: "Too many lives have been lost or ruined by the dangerous drugs formerly referred to as legal highs. That is why we have taken action to stamp out this brazen trade.

"The Psychoactive Substances Act sends a clear message - these drugs are not legal, they are not safe and we will not allow them to be sold in this country."

The legislation has come under intense scrutiny since first proposed by the Government last year. Ahead of the ban, a survey by the YMCA suggested that while overall usage is likely to decrease, around two thirds of young people taking the drugs are likely to continue using them.

And there are fears that the ban could drive dealers on to the "dark web" - unlisted websites that are difficult to trace.

This month, representatives from the police, legal, medical and social care professions will attend a training day organised by Lifeline, looking at legal high use and issues arising from the new legislation.

"We have noticed a rise in the number of people accessing our community service, SHARE, who are using legal highs and not understanding the dancers they post to their health," said Faz at Lifeline.

"At the Lifeline Project we feel all professionals working on the frontline have a responsibility to deal with these issues and ensure people are getting the right help.

"In light of this we are offering free accredited training to professionals."

The training will look at what Novel Psychoactive Substances (legal highs) are, trends, risks to users, and related psychological, social and health issues.

Those attending the event, on June 15, include West Yorkshire Crime Commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson and his deputy commissioner, the Lead Commissioner for Public Health England (PHE) in Bradford, solicitors, police officers, probation workers, social workers and representatives of mental health services.

"The course is now fully booked, we were surprised that places filled up so soon, and we will be arranging another training course in the coming weeks due to the high demand," added Faz.