Concern expressed over possible long-term damage

THE products on sale from head shops may be just as damaging as what is available on the black market, according to Frank Hunt, treatment manager at Bushypark Treatment Centre in Ennis.
“I would be extremely concerned, frightened indeed, about the effects that they would have on people who take them,” Mr Hunt told The Clare Champion.
He said the fact the products are available over the counter does not mean they are safe.
“I would be very concerned that they cause long-term psychological damage. The fact that they are available legally leads people to believe they can take a careless approach to what they’re putting into their bodies. Because it’s legal, it creates that mindset but the products have effects that are very similar to the most dangerous psychotic drugs.”
Mr Hunt said that many people had come to Bushypark with problems surrounding the types of products available in head shops.
Schools from around Clare were represented at a seminar held in Ennis this week at which HSE representatives gave information on the type of dangers posed by the products on offer.
Jean Pound, principal of Coláiste Muire in Ennis, said that the schools are seeking a meeting with local political representatives to discuss the issue.
“We will be looking to meet them at the start of March. It takes time to get substances banned but we will be lobbying because we don’t want these shops in our locality. They have been banned in parts of Europe and America. These shops are apparently making huge money and the long-term effects of the products are frightening.”
She said that a whole new cohort of young people were becoming involved in taking dangerous products because of the legal status of what is on sale in head shops.
Anna O’Neill of the HSE’s Clare Drug and Alcohol Service facilitated the seminar. She also said it was important that people weren’t left under the illusion that head-shop products were harmless. “We are really concerned that users have the idea that these products are safe. That’s absolutely untrue. The risk is exactly the same as with illegal drugs, as far as we are aware. Parents need to know about it and to know that people who ordinarily wouldn’t take drugs could become drawn in,” she said.