THE British Government is being urged to halt plans to follow Ireland’s example and outlaw “legal highs”.
The calls follow a BBC investigation which found that the system in place in the Republic is “flawed”.
A senior Irish drugs officer admitted to the broadcaster that the law can leave the Gardaí powerless to prosecute those caught with legal highs.
Despite the Psychoactive Substances Act prohibiting the buying and selling of any substances that are “psychoactive”, the BBC found that Irish drug squads cannot act on many of these drugs because of a flaw in legislation.
In order to prosecute a suspect Gardaí must scientifically prove that the substance has a psychoactive effect.
As a result only four prosecutions have been sucessful in the five years since the legislation was enacted.
The revelation has led to calls for the British Home Office to postpone plans to adopt similar laws until a solution is found for the Act’s British counterpart.
Legal highs come in a variety of forms – from powder, to pills and liquids – which can produce psychoactive effects in those who use them.
The infamous “head shops” that are scattered around Ireland made headlines in 2010 when a Prime Time investigation revealed the extent of the hallucinations experienced by people who consumed their products.
The number of these stores dwindled from 112 to just 12 when the Psychoactive Substances Act was enforced in Ireland, which outlawed a number of the products they sold.
However, the BBC investigation confirms that these drugs are still readily available to order in bulk from the internet.
