Death Caused by Legal Highs Will Be More than Cases of Heroin Overdose: Study

By Staff Reporter - 18 Aug '14 08:45AM

The U.K. experts say the number of people killed due to 'legal highs' will exceed deaths related to cocaine overdose in the next two years.

The Center for Social Justice (CSJ) found a sudden upshot in deaths and hospital admissions due to intake of new drugs like alpha-methyltryptamine (AMT) sold as Clockwork Orange, Bliss and Mary Jane. The agency researchers predict deaths caused by these new mind-altering substances or 'legal highs' will be higher than the number or people dying by overdosing on heroin and cocaine. Their study noted about 250 shops sell legal highs in the country, reports Mirror.Co UK.

During 2012, the CSJ officials recorded nearly 97 deaths linked to usage of new psychoactive chemicals. The total number of people admitted to hospitals and emergency rooms also surged to 56 percent between 2009 and 2012. The findings urge regulatory authorities to exercise strict control over the sale of legal highs.

The CSJ imposed a ban on legal highs after a Southampton-based teen consumed the drug believing it had the same effect as ecstasy or MDMA. The 18-year-old died within four days after trying the substance. The agency also recommends imposition of treatment taxes added to alcohol to raise funds to treat people suffering from alcohol and drug addiction.

"Addiction rips into families, makes communities less safe and entrenches poverty," said Christian Guy, director at the Center for Social Justice, reports the Daily Mail.

"For years full recovery has been the preserve of the wealthy - closed off to the poorest people and to those with problems who need to rely on a public system. We want to break this injustice wide open."
Last month the U.K. government announced a strict ban on the sale of legal highs in festivals like Glastonbury .

"There is concern at every level about what legal highs do. It's fantastic to see such influential festivals getting involved in the campaign to rid our country of these potentially fatal substances, but more is required," said Democratic Unionist Jim Shannon at the Westminster Hall debate, reports the Daily Mail.