Teens Ill From Legal Highs

4 December 2014, 07:32 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

15-year-old's have been taken to hospital after taking legal highs in Nottingham.

The City Council's Trading Standards team has told Capital they're working hard to get legal highs off our streets but could do with a bit more support from the government to stop it getting any worse.

Jane Bailey, Trading Standards Team Manager, told Capital:

'We have had a couple of reports of young people being ill, not particularly children but younger adults, probably from taking these substances.

'In Nottingham, the youngest we've heard of is in the region of 15 years old that has been poorly having taken these substances.

'Around the country there have been some deaths that have been linked with taking these sorts of substances.

'We feel the government needs to take stronger action against these products, then that would make our job easier here in Nottingham.'

Jane Bailey, Nottingham Trading Standards

'Mimic controlled substances'

Legal highs contain chemicals that mimic the intoxicating effects of controlled substances.

Trading Stadards say due to the lack of quality control on their manufacture, one product may not have the same effects as one that a consumer has already tried or contain the ingredients listed on the packaging.

Recently, a shop gave their legal highs to Trading Standards before a court case.

Jane Bailey, Trading Standards Team Manager, said:

"This is an excellent result for the safety of consumers in Nottingham. These unsafe products have been removed from the market place and the message has been sent out to other sellers of legal highs that Trading Standards will seize them and get them forfeited through the courts.

'We would also consider prosecuting anyone else we find selling legal highs in the future.'