Three drug treatment services had to close temporarily because of problems in dealing with drug users taking new psychoactive substances (NPS).
Staff were confronted by clients suffering severe agitation, aggression and even violence as a result of taking the synthetic drugs.
The findings are contained in a report on NPS by the European Drugs Agency.
The report documents that significant harms are being posed to certain problematic users, including marginalised groups such as injecting drug users, the homeless and prisoners.
The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction is currently monitoring 620 NPS, formerly known as head shop drugs.
The main drugs are synthetic cathinones (which mimic MDMA and cocaine); and synthetic cannabinoids (which mimic cannabis); as well as synthetic opioids (mimicing heroin); and synthetic benzodiazepines.
Source: Cormac O'Keeffe, The Irish Examiner, 14/06/17
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