Info campaign on legal highs needed [finegael.org]
- Published: 30 March 2010
Minister for Education must introduce Legal Highs awareness campaign in schools – Byrne
The new Minister for Education and Skills, Mary Coughlan TD, must show leadership and immediately introduce a campaign in every secondary school to inform young people about the serious health implications of legal highs, and advise them to make the right decision and not experiment with these potentially harmful substances, according to Fine Gael’s Spokesperson on the National Drugs Strategy, Catherine Byrne TD.
“With the growth in popularity of ‘head shops’, which are legally selling products such as mephedrone, ‘spice’ and ‘snow’, the Minister for Education has a duty to highlight, through education, the fact that the vast majority of these substances are not safe for consumption, especially if they are mixed with other drugs and alcohol. The shocking stories about young people experiencing mental health problems, including psychosis, delusions and paranoia, and a number of recent deaths linked to the consumption of legal highs across the UK show just how serious the problem is and it will only get worse if the Government fails to act.
Full Story: www.finegael.org
