Grainne Kenny sets her sights on peyote ban (Ireland)

[Abrad]

This article appeared in today’s Irish Sunday Mirror.

Cactus Trip at Death Jump Head Shop

A Druggie shop that sold magic mushrooms to a man who jumped to his death is STILL selling dangerous mind-blowing products.

Colm Hodgkinson died after eating a box of psychedelic mushrooms he had bought legally from the Hemp Store on Capel Street in Dublin.

The drugs were banned last year after a campaign from Colms heartbroken family. But yesterday a shop assistant working in the Hemp Store was was selling hallucinogenic cactus plants.

He said "We are selling peyote cacti for between €80 - €140. They are very strong but the intensity of the high depends on the preparation.

"You could eat the whole cactus and get nothing out of it.

"But if you prepared it in a different way you could get a hell of a lot out of it."

The peyote cactus - which originally comes from Central America - contains the drug mescaline.

The cactus was used by Native American tribes during trippy religious ceremonies.

Last night, Colms dad Eoin was clearly upset but did not want to comment on the shop.

But yesterday a friend of the family slammed the shop owners for selling the cacti.

"It is an absolute disgrace that they are still selling these lethal drugs.

"Colms family campaigned tirelessly after his death to have magic mushrooms banned.

"This news is a real slap in the face for them.

"I hope nobody else has to die before these drugs are taken off the shelves for good."

Anti-drugs campaigners have said that these cacti could lead to another death like Colm's.

The 33-year-old leapt from the balcony of his fourth story flat after a Halloween party in 2005.

Grainne Kenny, a spokeswoman for Europe Against Drugs slammed the Dublin shop for selling the plants.

She said, "The Hemp Store is still selling dangerous hallucinogenic drugs one year after the inquest into Colm's death.

"Peyote cactus plants can cause paranoia, panic and hallucinations and are just as dangerous a magic mushrooms.

"The Hemp Store owners are being grossly irresponsible and insensitive to the memory of Colm Hodgkinson.

"Do we have to wait for another death before we can ban these cacti plants?"

Shops like the Hemp Store - so called "head shops" - are legally allowed to sell marijuana seeds and drug paraphernalia.

But Ms. Kenny claimed these cactus plants did not give a safe and natural high.

She said: "Colm Hodgkinson had not used magic mushrooms before the night he died.

"But they just hit his brain badly and sent him into a terrible state of panic.

"The Hemp Store cannot say these cacti are safe because the do not know how they will affect certain people.

"Peyote are a naturally growing substance so nobody can say how strong they are."

She claimed the government should take action and ban all shops selling these drugs.

Ms. Kenny said: "It makes absolutely no sense to ban magic mushrooms but still allow shops to sell peyote cacti.

"There is no point in trying to ban these things one by one, there is so much profit that they will just find something else to replace it.

"I want head shops banned, full stop."

A Department of Health spokesman said a review of the legal status of mescaline was underway.

He added "Substances including mescaline are scheduled under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

"The list of scheduled substances is kept under review on an ongoing basis.

"The department reviews any evidence that substances are being abused and are causing significant harm to public health.

The Hemp Store refused to comment on the issue yesterday.

And an editorial from the same paper.

Bring down sellers of legal "highs"

IT IS time the government tackled the "legal highs" available over head shop counters.

One shop that sold magic mushrooms to a man who jumped to his death is still selling hallucinogenic products.

The sale of magic mushrooms was banned following a campaign by the family of Colm Hodgkinson after his death, but the shop where the 33-year-old bought his mushrooms and head-shops all over the country are simply selling other highs instead.

Why is the governmant taking such a piecemeal approach to such a vital health issue?

The peyote cactus, openly and legally on sale, is a potent hallucinogen and so could prove equally as dangerous as the now-banned magic mushrooms.

Last October, Health Minister Mary Harney said that "any dangerous substances that are being made availableunder the guise of herbal medicine would be of concern and would have to take action if that were the case."

IT IS the case, Minister, and it IS time for that action.

Grainne Kenny of EURAD said peyote cactus plants could cause paranoia, panic and hallucinations and were as dangerous as magic mushrooms.

It is insulting to the memory of Colm Hodgkinson and to his family, who have campaigned so hard on this issue, to outlaw magic mushrooms while allowing other equally dangerous substances to be sold easily.

It took the death of Colm to get government action on the issue of mushrooms. The government must not wait for someone else to die before getting to grips with the entire issue once and for all.