Deaths from 'legal highs' soar 800% in three years

Based on a report, the number of deaths linked to legal highs has soared by 800% between 2009 and 2012.

14:15 12 February 2014

A recent study has found that deaths from legal highs, such as the since-banned party drug Meow Meow, have increased by 800per cent in three years. From just 12 in 2009, the number has climbed to 97 in 2012. 

 

This has prompted an expert to say that taking the substances is akin to “dancing in a minefield.” 

 

Maryon Stewart, the mother of a 21-year-old woman who died after taking “liquid ecstacy” said that the figures are “horrifying.” She added: “Behind each of the 97 deaths is a family torn apart.”

 

“Young people purchase these substances not believing for a minute they could be harmed by them.”

 

Meanwhile, Professor Fabrizio Schifano, of the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths, said: “Clearly this is a major public health concern and we must continue to monitor this worrying development. Those experimenting with such substances are effectively dancing in a minefield.”

 

Karen Audino, another mother who lost a child to legal high, released a shocking picture of her son dying in hospital to warn others. 20-year-old Jimmy Guichard suffered a heart attack and severe brain damage in October after smoking “herbal incense” bought from a legal high shop.