New laws will counter second wave of legal highs
The Department of Health has drawn up further legislation to outlaw a new wave of "head shop" drugs which are hitting the Irish market.
Head shops caused huge controversy following a surge in the sale of substances which mimic the effects of cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis.
In response to this, the Psychoactive Substances Act 2010 was passed banning a long list of "legal highs".
However, although the move was hailed as the ultimate crackdown, there were warnings that manufacturers would simply re-modify the chemical structure of the drugs to circumvent the law.
This prediction came to pass and now the department is set to seek the Government’s approval to ban a new range of psychoactive head shop substances, including Whack, Amplified and Iced Diamonds.
Source: Jennifer Hough, Irish Examiner,13/04/2011
