Public meeting on 'legal highs'
A PUBLIC meeting to create awareness on head shops will take place on March 29 amid reports of serious psychotic and violent reactions to some 'legal highs' which are available to buy in shops around the city.
Reports of children, some as young as 12 taking the substances were heard at the Joint Policing Committee last week. Growing concerns on the sales of 'legal highs' were voiced at the meeting when councillors, community leaders and senior gardai all agreed that there needed to be more information and awareness surrounding the products that are for sale in the shops.
The Hemporium on Kieran Street also caused controversy this week when they advertised a Mother's Day Sale and further St Patrick's Days specials.
Further details in this week's Kilkenny People. Our people have watched who is going in and out of the shops and there are people from all walks of life and people who should know better. We need to raise awareness. Just because these substances are legal it does not mean that they are okay to take and we need to raise awareness of this until the legalities are addressed,” he added.
Community worker, Marie Fogarty who also sits on the joint policing committee and has some 25 years experience in community work. “I am coming up against major problems with head shops. There are 12 and 14-year-olds getting this stuff from older teenages. It is frightening, how are the people on the ground meant to deal with these young people who might by grand one night and off their head the next night. i have come across young people who have assaulted people and are not able to remember it afterwards. I heard of a 15-year-old off his head on Snow (a legal high) and ended up giving someone a black eye. We are not getting rid of the problem by getting rid of the shops as then people will just go underground,” she added.
Cllr Andrew McGuinness agreed saying that if the head shops were closed it would force the problem underground. “It is one thing to say that they are a hazard to our children. If we close down these shops what is to stop other premises selling ‘bath salts’ and ‘herbal essences’ (legal highs are oftened sold as plant food, bath salts and herbal essences). People are paid in high tech labs to be one step ahead of the legal system. We would be better off to try and get the experts to analysis the products and see what is in them. Everytime it is highlighted in the media sales go through the roof and that is the reality. We should tell young people what’s in them and let them deicide. We need to know what’s in the stuff,” he added. Cllr Joe Reidy (FF) added that there was a need for a ‘strong public awareness campaign’ to be implemented.
Chief Supt Mc Garry pointed out that detections in relation to illegal drugs have increased in recent tiimes and according to garda information usage has decreased.
Cllr Betty Manning (FG) said that parents are desperate and are looking for help and want the head shops closed down. “It is our responsibility to protect young people. Otherwise in five or six years some of these young people may well experience health problems that will be linked back to these substances.” Mayor of Kilkenny, Cllr Malcolm Noonan added that people of all ages were taking these substances. “They may suffer flashbacks in years to come according to psychologists and psychiatricts.” He suggested that perhaps an EU directive banning a range of substances might be the way forward.
Cllr David Fitzgerald (FG) also questioned as to whether they had been any reaction from local drug dealers to the head shops and was informed by Chief Supt McGarry that to date there had been no evidence of this in Kilkenny. Cllr Joe Malone (FF) who is a member of the local drug task force and is involved in community work informed the meeting that he had heard that heroin and cocaine dealers were badly affected by the head shops.
The public meeting will take place in the Clubhouse Hotel on March 29 at 8pm.
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Monday 21 May 2012
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