Unacceptable strain put on NHS by legal highs

Legal high drugs are putting an unacceptable strain on NHS resources, according to the paramedics who have to deal with such cases. Medical staff say that people who have taken legal high drugs are more difficult to cope with than users of illegal drugs such as cocaine and they have noted a significant hike in the number of emergency call-outs related to legal high use. The West Midlands Ambulance Service has seen the number of legal-high related emergencies triple during the summer, but believes the actual figure could be a great deal higher.

Cameron McVittie, a paramedic, told Sky News: “There are many calls where we are told it might be a legal high ‒ they have tripled since April ‒ but there are other calls that we get where it says ‘unconscious’ or ‘chest pains’ but the actual reason is the same ‒ it’s another bad reaction to a legal high.”

Mr McVittie explained that paramedics know how to handle people who have taken an overdose of other drugs, such as cannabis or cocaine, but that the effects of legal highs are unpredictable and consequently more difficult to deal with.

There is a steady supply of legal highs available both online and in shops, with the ingredients constantly changing. One legal high, Black Mamba, has become a banned substance; however, it is still the cause of many requests for help from people who have become seriously ill through its use.