'Legal high' that hospitalised Blackburn teenager to be banned
9:07am Monday 15th October 2012 in News
By David Watkinson, Deputy news editor
An atom bomb image on the 'Annihilation' packaging
A CONTROVERSIAL ‘legal high’, on sale in shops in East Lancashire, is set to be banned by the government.
‘Annihilation’ is among hundreds of new synthetic ‘designer’ compound drugs, many of which imitate the effects of controlled drugs, such as cannabis or ecstasy, that the government’s drugs advisers are to recommend to be banned this week.
It left a 15-year-old boy needing hospital treatment after taking the drug in Blackburn last month.
The teenager, from Darwen, collapsed near Pleasington playing fields after taking just one hit of ‘Annihilation’.
The drug, which is sold as pot pourri and is labelled ‘herbal incense’, despite featuring an image of an atom bomb explosion on the packet, is smoked like cannabis.
The youngster was with 15 friends near Hillcrest Road when his mother said he took one drag of the drug, at 4.45pm last Saturday.
Professor Les Iversen, the chairman of the government’s Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), said ‘Annihilation’ was a particularly potent compound that had left young people hospitalised in Glasgow and Blackburn.
He said youngsters had become severely agitated and over-stimulated after taking it. Strathclyde Police have said that three people were hospitalised in Glasgow after taking it at the same time earlier this month.
“Just because it’s legal, doesn’t mean it's safe. No-one can predict the risks involved,” said Detective Inspector Jim Bradley.
“Those who have taken the drug have experienced adverse health effects, including increased heart rate, unconsciousness, numbness in legs causing collapse, paranoia, aggression and self-harming.
“The symptoms appear, in some cases, to last for several hours.”
The drugs advisers will also this week confirm a ban on the first legal high to be controlled under the government’s new “temporary banning legislation”.
They are expected to tell the Home Secretary that the evidence exists to retain the ban on methoxetamine, which was placed on a temporary class drug order in April.
Comments(16)
vegeboy
says...
11:27am Mon 15 Oct 12
district01
says...
11:57am Mon 15 Oct 12
Jack Herer
says...
11:59am Mon 15 Oct 12
vegeboy wrote:Or drink of course.
we need to deal with the reason people feel the need to take these drugs or get high,in the first place.
Are you seriously suggesting that we are going to stop that now though, in the face of all the pubs, supermarkets, parties, weddings, christenings, funerals etc where alcohol use is rampant?
How do you suggest we deal with the reason that people feel the need to drink? I'm guessing the adverts on the telly for Barcardi or Pimms or Carlsberg or Carling certainly aren't helping. Should we start by banning alcohol advertising?
Also, a pub culture has been part of British culture for hundreds of years. Should we close all pubs and ban alcohol?
Come on vegeboy - surely we need realistic suggestions. Proposing people are just going to stop drinking, for whatever reason, is being completely detached from reality.
Mankind has been drinking alcohol and taking cannabis now for thousands of years, but your solution is to somehow change this. You may as well propose divine intervention as a solution.
How are you seriously going to stop people unwinding with a glass of wine at the end of the day?
Obvious question but you do know that this is the UK don't you?
Jack Herer
says...
12:00pm Mon 15 Oct 12
district01 wrote:Why though, if supermarkets or pubs are never sent the bill for all the problems caused by alcohol?
Send the bill to the irresponsible shop where it was purchased!
useyourhead
says...
12:55pm Mon 15 Oct 12
BuckoTheMoose
says...
1:44pm Mon 15 Oct 12
Jack - I am with you in your desire to have canabis legalised but I wish you would stop using the reason, "because it causes less harm than booze".
The two are totally different and only a minority of drinkers cause problems. I enjoy a drink and although I am happy for your canabis to be legal so you can enjoy it, I would prefer that it wasn't at the expense of my beer. Cheers!
district01
says...
1:57pm Mon 15 Oct 12
Jack Herer wrote:Sorry ‘Jack Herer’ but it’s the obvious branding that is the problem. It’s not like having the occasional smoke or drink. It’s an item produced for one reason only and the seller not being at all concerned as to the harm it may produce. Profit above anything else!
district01 wrote:Why though, if supermarkets or pubs are never sent the bill for all the problems caused by alcohol?
Send the bill to the irresponsible shop where it was purchased!
Scooby
says...
3:25pm Mon 15 Oct 12
Now surely we can't ban something because just because one person has panic attack?? The effects you describe in the article sound no worse than a few cans of redbull or a night out drinking!
Jack Herer
says...
3:25pm Mon 15 Oct 12
BuckoTheMoose wrote:Look, I love booze. I'd literally be the first on the train to protest if they tried banning it.
Problem solved then. Prohibition has always worked in the past. Oh, wait....
Jack - I am with you in your desire to have canabis legalised but I wish you would stop using the reason, "because it causes less harm than booze".
The two are totally different and only a minority of drinkers cause problems. I enjoy a drink and although I am happy for your canabis to be legal so you can enjoy it, I would prefer that it wasn't at the expense of my beer. Cheers!
Unfortunately booze is very good at showing the madness involved with prohibiting cannabis though. Alcohol really is very damaging when compared to cannabis.
Don't worry about booze however. It isn't going to be banned. Not ever. I'd be very surprised if it even saw more restrictions. It should be able to take it on the chin though and see some healthy competition in the same market of regulated recreational drugs for responsible adults.
As such, much as I love the liquor, I'm going to have to carry on using it as an example. I'm genuinely sorry about that BuckoTheMoose, and I'm hoping you can understand my reasoning - if it looks like booze is going to be banned, I'll switch sides in an instant!
woolywords
says...
5:42pm Mon 15 Oct 12
Simply make it illegal to supply any noxious substance to anyone of any age without a possession of a licence to do so. Penalties can start at a minimum fine of £50 000 and 5 years imprisonment. Would stop the whole thing dead in it's tracks I would think.
Since alcohol and cannabis are already covered elsewhere in legislation there is no need for them to be changed.
phil kernot
says...
6:38pm Mon 15 Oct 12
sickofthisrubbish
says...
12:33am Tue 16 Oct 12
They banned guns,
And their are more wepons on the streets than their ever was.
That worked, but controling them might have!.
(when ignorance is manditory its folly to be inteligent)
KaiserSoze
says...
1:21am Tue 16 Oct 12
sickofthisrubbish
says...
2:41am Tue 16 Oct 12
sickofthisrubbish wrote:Sorry about that i should pay more atention to what iam doing.
Banning as never stop anything but i suppose thats the default seting of a moron, but what can you do when muppits are in control?. They banned guns, And their are more wepons on the streets than their ever was. That worked, but controling them might have!. (when ignorance is manditory its folly to be inteligent)
ILL start againe
:- Banning as never stopped anything.
I suppose its the default setting of a moron.
But what can you do when muppits are in control!.
They banned firearms that worked?
More weapons on the streets than their ever was!.
Banned knives that looked dangerous!.
when 80% of people get stabed with kitchen knives?.
They banned drugs when beer as more of detriamental effect.
(when ignorance is manditory its folly to be Intelligent)
What should happen his they should be legal,
And people that abuse their privalage should pay a higher price for their stupidity.
Take away the glammer then it becomes mundane No problem?.
People will probably go bungie jumping with no rope?
( its the Danger and risk that gives the glammer rush )
To those who think it will make things worse,
Take alook around can it get worse!
How do you know no ones tryed it. so how do you know?.
We have tryed proibition and that certanly as not worked?
We are not american so you cant use that as an argument,
but we are getting there 1920's america,
with gangs an guns and the rest of the nastyness that comes with victomization an fear of the state!.
But the IQ 0's cant see this,or are too scared of loesing there job!.
And thats why we get kneejurk reactions to problems.
( Dont want to lose votes doesnt matter if its right or sensibe.
idots rule)
Its the politcal class's job to take the hard desision for the good of the country even if the country thinks its a mad desision to take.
so the country just slips in to the sewer premanently!!!.
More an more people get crimanal ized, then get angry,
just hope you dont meet someone like this? or youll see what i mean.
It will be your own fault because your narrow mindedness,
That as victimized and made them angry. Thank the state you made them .
But its OK! you can attack a burglar now ? ( be prepaired they' ll come tooled up now to defend them selfs from you! ( morons rule long live the di*kheads) . TTFN
BuckoTheMoose
says...
9:17am Tue 16 Oct 12
Jack Herer wrote:Jack - You would be surprised then. There is a whole new movement in the wake of Tobacco Control that is hell bent on prohibition of booze.
BuckoTheMoose wrote:Look, I love booze. I'd literally be the first on the train to protest if they tried banning it.
Problem solved then. Prohibition has always worked in the past. Oh, wait....
Jack - I am with you in your desire to have canabis legalised but I wish you would stop using the reason, "because it causes less harm than booze".
The two are totally different and only a minority of drinkers cause problems. I enjoy a drink and although I am happy for your canabis to be legal so you can enjoy it, I would prefer that it wasn't at the expense of my beer. Cheers!
Unfortunately booze is very good at showing the madness involved with prohibiting cannabis though. Alcohol really is very damaging when compared to cannabis.
Don't worry about booze however. It isn't going to be banned. Not ever. I'd be very surprised if it even saw more restrictions. It should be able to take it on the chin though and see some healthy competition in the same market of regulated recreational drugs for responsible adults.
As such, much as I love the liquor, I'm going to have to carry on using it as an example. I'm genuinely sorry about that BuckoTheMoose, and I'm hoping you can understand my reasoning - if it looks like booze is going to be banned, I'll switch sides in an instant!
I doubt very much we will see it banned, just like tobacco won't be banned, but be prepared for similar restrictions.
They are heavily pushing for minimum alcohol pricing, and that will happen sooner or later. They just need to get round EU trade laws which shouldn't be to difficult when it's done on the back of 'public health'.
The minimum price won't be set either, it will be an escalator.
They are also pushing for plain packaging of booze. One that goes through with tobacco the campaign will take flight. I'll give it five years tops before your bottle of wine has a plain label with a picture of a diseased liver on it :-)
I really wish the prodnoses would butt out. Fags, booze and drugs, it's all a matter of personal choice and there are laws in place to deal with idiots, we just need to use them.
Jack Herer says...
11:11am Mon 15 Oct 12
We have other legal highs which are so dangerous that a trip to the hospital seems par for the course with taking them.
And we have cannabis, which is safely taken by millions and millions, with absolute no negative effects to those people. Statistically, you are putting yourself in more danger by eating peanuts than taking cannabis. In many cases cannabis is even providing an incredibly safe relief to many medical conditions.
But cannabis is the only one of these 3 drugs where we are smashing people's door down to stop them taking it.
The world currently appears to be upside down.
Is it any wonder that society is in such a mess?