What can the PAL meeting achieve?

PAL certainly succeeded in raising awareness of mephedrone and the legal highs now on sale, or on the way to market, now that it has been banned.

And it would appear that the politicians in attendance are taking seriously the very public display of anger, concern and frustration with the law that permits head shops to sell potentially deadly legal highs and the inability of Government to police the internet.

Newly re-elected East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson said he intended to pursue a suggestion from Larne Borough Council chief executive Geraldine McGahey that, with additional powers, environmental health departments could be tasked with the licensing and inspection of such outlets.

Mr Wilson also took note of the comments of police that officers can only act within the law. He said it might be within the remit of the Assembly to legislate against legal highs, but he asked the PSNI to advise on the extent of the powers they would require.

And Roy Beggs Jnr, MLA, said he would immediately lobby for the new Conservative Secretary of State Owen Paterson’s support for UK-wide legislation aimed at curtailing the availability of highs. Mr Beggs said he would also take the case to the Home Office and to the Foreign Office which, he said, could use its influence in countries like China, where much of the highs originate, to cut off supplies at source so they would not be so readily available on the internet.

Mr Beggs urged: “We have to get wise as communities and have the ability to spot these drugs and it is something we should all campaign on.”

PAL are convinced the UK must follow the example of the US and New Zealand, where substances are not allowed to be sold without exhaustive tests and research.

While the audience was appreciative of counselling services already available through such groups as the Hope Centre, New Life Counselling and the Carrickfergus-based Matrix project, the consensus was that the priority should be education and in particular alerting children to the health risks associated with drugs.

Mrs McGahey said Larne Council only had the resources to fund one youth worker, who liaised with people in the various estates, and it was hoped that premises could be found for a drop-in centre.

The council had also helped to fund a schools education programme, but the money would run out in June.

Assemblyman Alastair Ross said: “I would hope that many of the local schools now invite some of the speakers in to speak to young people, and help to educate people of the dangers of these so called legal high drugs.”

Councillor and GP Brian Dunn said: “The big question is what to do about it. I think the police are probably quite frustrated because they can only act under the law and the law moves very slowly, but the people who make the drugs move very quickly and while the law is trying to ban one drug they are moving on to the next one.

“The counselling services available in the community are very welcome, but I think the main thing has to be education. Through the schools and through the voluntary organisations, and through parents, children have to be educated that you can't go around putting substances in to your body without harming yourself. Children need to know that these things can be harmful; that children do die and children have died from taking them.

“The other thing we have to emphasise to our children is: not only are they harming their health, but they are going to be lining the pockets of people who are less than upstanding citizens and who are prepared to become vey rich harming the health and putting the lives of our children at risk.”

Sinn Fein spokesman in East Antrim, Oliver McMullan, congratulated PAL for organising the event, but he urged the group to go a step further and host a second meeting on the wider drugs issues.

“The people who stood up and spoke were very brave and they have my full support,” he said. “The meeting should be seen as a good first stepping stone to tackling Larne’s horrific drug problem, but there is still a cocktail of still drugs out there, both legal and illegal, and it is not just mephedrone which poses a danger.

“Young people in the town know exactly where to go and who to see to get hold of these drugs,” said Mr McMullan. “There are people bringing these drugs in to Larne and selling them to make a profit. Unless we tackle the problem now it will only get worse.”