Paint Thinner On Misuse Of Drugs List
The hysteria about head shops has had the desired effect, with the Government announcing a whole new raft of restrictions. But will it affect the demand for ‘highs’, legal or otherwise?
Stuart Clark, 23 Mar 2010
Ireland’s estimated 90 head shop owners woke up to bad news on Tuesday March 2, when it was revealed that the Government here has notified the EU of its plans to ban a range of legal highs that includes mephedrone, methylone and related cathinones, GBL and 1,4BD which are also known as ‘liquid ecstasy’ as well as ketamine, tapentadol, BZP ‘party pill’ derivatives and synthetic cannabinoids of which Spice is the brand leader here.
The three-month notice period duly completed, all of the aforementioned substances will become illegal under the Misuse of Drugs Act at the start of June.
“At a rough guess, I’d say that the ‘to be banned’ list accounts for about 60% of our current stock,” a head shop owner, who asked not to be identified, tells Hot Press. “GBL/1,4BD is a strange one because I don’t know of anybody here that stocks it – there is a substance being sold under the ‘liquid ecstasy’ brand name, but it’s not what the media delight in misleadingly calling ‘the date rape drug’. GBL is actually a common ingredient in paint thinner, so that’s going to be interesting for the decorating trade!
“Tapentadol is another substance I’ve never come across in head shops, which makes me think that the Government are trying to future-proof against it being used as a replacement for the other substances they’re banning.”
Although describing the general mood of Irish head shop owners as “pessimistic”, our source believes that the industry here still has a future.
“Take mephedrone, party pills and the likes of Spice off the shelves, and I don’t think there will be enough business to sustain the number of head shops you’ve got at present – especially in rural areas where you haven’t got the population base,” he proffers. “I suspect we’ll go back to the pre-2008 level of having 30 or 40 shops which, if they’ve any sense, will stop all this selling through hatches at three in the morning and home delivery palaver. It’s that sort of behaviour, which has got us into the mess we’re in now.”
©Hot Press 2011. Why be a member? | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy