Dr Des Corrigan, chair of the National Advisory Committee on Drugs has expressed concern about the lack of basic safety data on many head shop products. He will give an overview of the products available in head shops, their ingredients and their effects at a conference today.
"Because the drugs they appear to contain have never been tested for safety in humans, we have to rely, at present, on user reports.
"These may not be reliable because people often don’t know what exactly they have taken and there is no way of knowing how much has been used. Nor do we know what other drugs might have been taken by users."
Earlier this year, the chemical benzylpiperazine (BZP), which was found in party pills on sale in head shops, was made illegal in Ireland. And following on from today’s conference a submission will be made to the Office of the Minister for Drugs, containing details of the general concerns of frontline staff of substance misuse service providers.
Local communities and drugs projects are concerned too that although some head shops voluntarily operate an over 18s policy, this may not be enforced and the effects on young people are especially worrying.
Meanwhile, the Irish Examiner has found that one of the legal drugs flooding the market can be easily bought in bulk online from distributors in China, Paraguay or Pakistan – or even face to face from warehouses or private sellers in Britain.
Mephedrone, which has flooded the market since another BZP was banned last year, has become one of the most popular recreational drugs in Britain, overtaking ecstasy and cocaine because of price and accessibility.
There has also been a surge in sales here in the product which is labelled as plant food or bath salts.
Prices obtained from websites selling the drug, which is chemically similar to MDMA, the drug in ecstasy, range from £2,850 (€3,271) for 1kg, with this supplier offering a maximum of 500 grams per day and noting it will be sent discreetly inside DVD cases.
Another company based in Paraguay offers a kilogram for $2,400 (€1,700), claiming the product has been clinically tested and certified.
A vendor from Pakistan states the minimum order or 250g for £400, while a seller in China says it can supply 1,000kg per week.
When it reaches the shops, a gram can cost about €40 or €50, meaning head shops and people selling the substance are making massive profits.
It appears Mephedrone will be banned in Britain later this year.
However, other legal drugs such as flephedrone and buphedrone are already being made to replace it.
Source: Jennifer Hough, The Irish Examiner, 27/01/2010
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