Mother begs for more services to tackle legal high epidemic

A mother from County Down who lost her teenage son to legal high drugs has spoken out about the lack of services available to tackle the substances in Northern Ireland.

Earlier this year, in April, Adam Owens was found unconscious on the grass outside a house on the Westwinds estate in Newtownards. He was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. His mother, Adele Wallace, says she took Adam to many places for help with his drug problem; however, she now feels that not only is there not enough help being provided for Northern Ireland youngsters but also what help there is has been swamped by a legal high epidemic.

In an interview Ms Wallace gave to BBC Radio Ulster’s Good Morning Ulster programme, she said: “There is so much of it out there, so many sites that are selling this stuff and then of course you get the other side of the coin, people dealing in the street round the corner. It is as easy as turning on the water tap to get hold of stuff like this. No drug is a good drug, but especially legal highs because they are vile, toxic, deadly drugs.”

Ms Wallace also spoke about the terrible side effects suffered by her son after taking legal highs and how witnessing his plight upset her greatly.

Legal high drugs are banned in the Republic of Ireland, with emergency legislation put forward in March to close a legal loophole.