Cheltenham mum says tough laws needed on legal highs after son's breakdown
TOUGH laws should be introduced to tackle legal drugs, according to a woman who says her son had a mental breakdown after taking substances he bought in a Cheltenham shop.
The woman from Cheltenham, who asked not to be named, said her son began taking legal highs when he was 18 and soon after had to be committed to a psychiatric hospital due to his mental health rapidly deteriorating.
She claims her son bought a 'legal high' substance at a shop in Cheltenham town centre.
When the Echo contacted the shop to ask whether it sold the substance, the manager refused to comment. It is not illegal to sell the product.
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The mum said: "This stuff is legal but it made my son very unwell very quickly. The legislation to section someone is pretty rigid and it would be nice to see the same type of legislation applied to these legal drugs.
"I'm thinking of vulnerable people like schoolchildren who think that because they are legal they are safe."
Her son is now 24 and still recovering in the hospital.
She says she phoned the owner of the shop to question her about selling the substance.
"I rang the owner of the shop he had bought them in and she told me she never sold them to people who were unwell, but there's no way she can really tell," she said.
Mental health nurse Shelley Jones, a unit manager for the 2gether NHS Foundation Trust, has serious concerns about the legal highs.
She said: "I know of people buying them in both Cheltenham and Gloucester and they seem to be freely available on the internet as well. That doesn't mean they aren't harmful though. In fact, I would say they are more harmful than some illegal drugs in terms of the health implications.
"A number of people we work with have had an extremely bad reaction to these drugs – both in terms of a severe deterioration in their mental health, and extreme reactions in their physical health.
"They are dangerous enough when used on their own, but mixed with alcohol, prescription medication and other drugs, they can have a severe impact."
8 Comments
by IsitJimKerr
Tuesday, January 29 2013, 4:25PM
“Cue the 'make ALL drugs legal' chants...................”
by honslknjklyt
Tuesday, January 29 2013, 1:35PM
“Judges in this country let most everybody off with so called "illegal" drugs and the police turn a blind eye all too often, so we have no chance of trying to get action on "legal highs".
The druggie corner outside Debenhams is a fine example of that, the stench of weed, Rizla packet scraps on the floor, the dopy occupants of that corner, shows that those who can do something don't appear to be.
I avoid that corner, the stench sticks on my throat, vile.”
by L804XDG
Tuesday, January 29 2013, 1:01PM
“if there legal theres no problem”
by formulafreddy
Tuesday, January 29 2013, 11:42AM
“Firstly, "Legal Highs" is such an overly broad description it could apply to any psychoactive drug that hasn't been banned yet. This an include caffeine, khat, alcohol, 6-APB all in the same description. It also implies they are all equally as harmful. Of course they are not, some are more harmful than others, as is the case for any other class of drugs.
The industry needs to be regulated, not banned. Legal highs are just another unintended consequence of the prohibition of any harmful drug except alcohol and tobacco. There will be yet more unintended consequences if yet more stuff is banned.
So, yes, tough new laws are needed, but these should be to enable legal highs (other than alcohol) to be tested and approved for safe human consumption. New Zealand is doing just that and it will be interesting to see how it all pans out.”
by Terrythedog
Tuesday, January 29 2013, 10:07AM
“What a sympathetic bunch you are - maybe this is why mental health issues are still so taboo in this country because of the 'bad parenting, its your choice/your fault' response it elicits. How do you not know this lad felt down/depressed before and thought the legal natural high might make him feel better and all it did was exacerbate something that was already there.
I genuinely feel for this mother and I hope her son is able to get the help and support he needs to get his life back in order.”
by Matt1006
Tuesday, January 29 2013, 9:08AM
“Sorry that her son is in a mess, but it's a mess of his own making. HIS making, not society's.
And if he only started taking the legal highs when he was 18 (apparently), then he was an adult when he started. So 100% his choice, and 100% his responsibility. The warnings about these "legal highs" are out there, and are well known. He perhaps thought he wouldn't suffer. Too late now.
Another family torn apart by drugs (seemingly legal ones), but it's another family on a very long list. 99.99% of drug-users do it of their own free will, so I have no sympathy with them when they then suffer the consequences. Rough on the families who didn't have a choice, but then isn't that part of being a parent, even if you didn't sign up to that particular aspect of the role?”
by QwertyOS
Tuesday, January 29 2013, 8:19AM
“I doubt very much that it was just ``legal`` drugs he was taking if he knew what to look for. No one forced him take anything. Another chav junkie and his family blaming EVERYONE but themselves.”
by Alfredo_
Tuesday, January 29 2013, 8:12AM
“Perhaps her son just needed better parenting.”