More Floods of "Legal Highs"

Well, at least temporary bans are starting to show up not only in the UK, but also in the United States. Young people need to be aware of the extreme risk and danger of taking "legal highs". Doctors and even an addictions counselor will not be able to tell you the symptoms of these drugs until they are fully examined, making the risk even higher. As the article says, " just because a drug appears as "legal" does not mean it is safe" Chemical dependency counseling, will play its role. 

"At least 40 new "legal high" drugs have flooded into Britain in the past year sparking fears they could lead to a spate of deaths. 

Experts monitoring the appearance of so-called "legal highs" in the UK, claim a new generation of drugs that circumvent the country's laws has been created in China by unscrupulous chemists and then exported to the UK.[/B]

Figures compiled by the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs reveal that 40 new synthetic drugs appeared on sale in the UK during 2010. In the previous year there were 24 new drugs identified. In 2008 there were just 13.

Drug treatment experts said that young people taking the drugs were playing "Russian roulette" with their lives.

It comes after a row last year over the ban on one designer drug called mephedrone, or meow meow, when a leading Government drugs advisor warned the move would cause users to turn to other more dangerous synthetic alternatives.

Often the legal highs are packaged as plant food or bath salts.

The substances, which mimic the effects of illegal substances such as cocaine and ecstasy, have quickly become adopted as recreational party drugs, according to chemists at the ISCD, which was set up to provide information on existing and new drugs to the public and the authorities.

Professor Barry Everitt, a neurobiologist at Cambridge University specialising in addiction and a member of the committee, said: "We are aware of 40 new designer stimulants in the last calendar year. Most of them are being produced by chemists in China and then imported by head shops and dealers in the UK."

Doctors fear that young people taking these new substances are putting themselves at great risk as little is known about what effect they have on the body.

"There is no question they can cause deaths – there have been several deaths associated with mephedrone, but there could also be some long term health effects – they could be carcinogenic, they could cause kidney problems or birth defects.

Among the new substances to have emerged in the UK in the past year is A3A, a powder that is much more powerful than mephedrone whose effects, which include a raised heart beat, panic attacks and psychosis, can last for days.

Another legal drug, Ivory Wave, has been blamed for at least one death, that of chef Michael Bishton, 24, who was found dead in the sea near Bembridge on the Isle of Wight. Experts say Ivory Wave is a generic name for several different compounds and users never know which they are going to get.

Fluoromethcathinone is another stimulant similar to amphetamines that became abundant in the early part of 2010 before it was banned in April.

Dimethylamylamine is a stimulant that was created by tinkering with the chemical structure of the banned substance BZP.

"There is also an assumption that because something is legal, it is also safe. This is not the case. People are playing Russian roulette with the physical and psychological effects of these drugs. The best thing they can do is to understand the risks and not take them in the first place."

Instead ministers will be able to temporarily ban a drug for up to 12 months while the advisory council meets to discuss a permanent ban.

Minister for Crime Prevention James Brokenshire said: "We are committed to tackling emerging new drugs and stopping them gaining a foothold in this country.

"That is why we are introducing temporary banning orders to allow us to take immediate action whilst independent experts assess the harms they pose.

"We are also looking to improve the forensic early warning system so we can better identify new drugs coming into the UK market. This will include developing a co-ordinated UK-wide approach to laboratory testing and analysis of drug seizures, as well as wider test purchasing.

"Just because a drug is advertised as legal does not mean it is either legal or safe."

By Richard Gray
Science Correspondent
Jan 2011

Source:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalis...n-Britain.html

If you are interested in getting certified extremely fast for http://centauruniversity.com#mce_temp_url# and becoming a Counseling Graduate feel FREE to visit CentaurUniversity.com!