Head shop products to require medicinal licence, says Harney

Psychoactive products such as “whack” which are on sale in head shops require a licence from the Irish Medicines Board to be legal, Minister for Health Mary Harney has said.

The board is removing “whack” and other products from the shelves of head shops, she added.

Ms Harney told the Dáil that the only way of dealing with psychoactive substances was through “the introduction of catch-all legislation”, being brought forward by the Minister for Justice. She added that Britain was considering the introduction of similar legislation.

“There is no way of using medical products legislation or banning particular substances to get ahead of the curve with regard to particular substances,” the Minister said. “The catch-all legislation giving the Garda specific powers and prosecuting this as a civil matter is a better approach”.

It would be easier to get convictions because a case would be decided on the “balance of probabilities rather than reasonable doubt”.

Ms Harney said: “Initial analysis indicates that the products ‘whack’ and ‘amplified’ contain new cocaine-type substances. As these substances have anaesthetic effects, they fall within the scope of the medicinal products legislation. These products require a licence, and they do not hold a licence from the Irish Medicines Board or the European Medicines Agency.”

She rejected claims from Fine Gael health spokesman Dr James Reilly that the Government’s response to head shops was inadequate. Dr Reilly said his party colleague Frankie Feighan first raised the issue of head shops in the Dáil over two years ago in April 2008 “yet we had to wait until May 18th, 2010 for some action on banned substances”.

He said the number of head shops had increased from 36 to 48 by June. “How many are open now? How many have reopened?”

Ms Harney said: “The issue is not the number of shops open, but a question of what is sold in those shops.” But Dr Reilly said head shops circumvent the law and asked why she did not issue a directive for all products to be licensed by the medicines board.

Source: Marie O'Halloran, The Irish Times, 23/06/2010