Ireland - Plea to ban herbal ecstasy pills (Ireland)

[Lunar Loops]

According to this article authorities in the republic are reportedly set to outlaw legal highs. Does anyone else know anything of this? Our dear friend and moral guide Gráinne Kenny, high on the success of the mushroom ban, has been constantly crusading to get all headshops closed down, but SWIS wasn't aware of any plan to do so. In fact, SWIS thought the Irish government had looked at party pills and decided against such a ban.

Anyway, this from the mental health foundation website (UK):

Plea to ban herbal ecstasy pills


Herbal ecstasy pills openly on sale in Northern Ireland could trap children into a life of increasingly harder, more addictive drugs, an MP warned today.
With authorities in the Republic reportedly set to outlaw the so-called legal highs, Alasdair McDonnell has urged Stormont Ministers to make it an all-Ireland blanket ban.
Mr McDonnell also called for any shops selling the substances to be shut down.
The South Belfast representative and family GP revealed his fears after Irish Minister Pat Carey indicated he may prohibit the sale of herbal ecstasy at alternative lifestyle shops.
The pills can contain a substance benzyl piperazine (BZP) which experts warn may cause heart problems, panic attacks, seizures and impotence if used excessively.
With such potentially serious health risks involved, Dr McDonnell insisted it was time to take them off the shelves.
He said: "I think this is one issue that we can seek agreement with our Southern neighbours on and rid the entire island of this scourge.
"An all-island blanket ban would send out a strong message that these are harmful substances that can cause real damage."
Health chiefs have stressed the manufacture, sale or supply of any legal highs requires appropriate manufacturing, wholesaling or marketing authorisations.
It was following referrals from substances on sale in Northern Ireland earlier this year, that the Medicines Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency took the decision that such products containing BZP should be classified as medicines.
And a Department of Health spokeswoman confirmed: "We would advise against buying a product of unknown origin as there could be potentially serious consequences."
Dr McDonnell's campaign for tighter legislation intensified after discovering copy-cat legal drugs were being accessed by young people.
Staff in his office were able to purchase imitation ecstasy, LSD and speed substitutes, he said.
The SDLP MP added: "The shops that are peddling this stuff should have their trading licenses removed, and be closed down."
He claimed the pills posed similar dangers to some drinks aimed at younger consumers, encouraging them to experiment with harmful substances.
"We constantly hear about the dangers alco-pops pose to children getting caught up in underage drinking. Well these are drug alco-pops.
"As a family doctor I have witnessed first hand the destruction that so-called recreational drugs can have on young people and entire families.
""Everyone knows that drug use is often a process with people starting on softer types and then working their way up chasing bigger and stronger highs.
"The law must either be changed, or better enforced. I believe we must take a fundamental look at what we are trying to legislate for.
"Is it enough to concentrate on active ingredients with complicated chemical formulas, what relevance is that to the man on the street? If these products have the same end result as banned drugs then is it not more logical to prohibit them as well?"

[Abrad]

There was a short article in The Irish Sunday Mirror a couple of weeks ago in which a spokeman for the Department of Health said there were no plans to ban piperizines but they were looking into some kind of regulation.
I meant to type up the article and post it here but completely forgot. I'll see if I can root it out but it has probably been binned at this stage.