Children as young as 13 are taking freely available drugs known as ‘legal highs’ that have been blamed for two deaths.
Admitting that the law has not caught up with the lucrative market for psychoactive substances, Drugs Minister Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said what he is hearing from different parts of the country “is terrifying”.
A community worker in Monaghan told an Oireachtas committee that a psychoactive drug that mimics the effects of cannabis had killed two young people in the last 12 months.
Because of the level of abuse in the community people were asking who was going to die next, he said.
Packie Kelly of the Teach na Daoine resource centre said an increasing number of young people were using the drugs and developing complex needs.
He said the synthetic cannabinoids had become the number one drug of choice within Co Monaghan.
“Our survey highlighted that we have children as young as 13 years of age and the oldest user we are aware of is in their early 40s,” said Mr Kelly.
The drugs — Joker, Juicy Fruit, Clockwork Orange Loaded and Volume 2 — were wrapped in very attractive packaging and were freely available.
Mr Kelly said they found the newest version of the drug, that causes extreme psychotic behaviour, on the streets on Wednesday.
Source: irish Examiner, 10/07/15
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