Isle of Man - 'Ban legal high drug' call from coroner

Coroner of inquests John Needham wants a legal substance which killed a Ramsey teenager to be outlawed. Seventeen-year-old Tanya Hughes died in April this year after taking the drug MDAI. She got it from her boyfriend, who bought it legally on a website. Recording a misadventure verdict at the end of the resumed inquest, Mr Needham stressed the real danger of the drug's availability.

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A Ramsey MHK is looking for reassurances about the dedication of the Isle of Man's drug squad. Leonard Singer questioned the home affairs minister on the subject in the House of Keys yesterday (Tuesday). He is worried the Island's force is only tackling low level dealers and failing to stop those who are bringing in larger quantities of illegal substances. Mr Singer says the drugs squad needs to be completely focused on fighting the war against drugs (first part of audio file).

Home Affairs Minister Juan Watterson says in the past three years the total value of illegal drugs seized on the Island was almost £850,000. He says one of the priorities for his department over the next five years will be tackling drugs, and the drugs squad is a committed team (second part of audio file).

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Drugs offenders are more than double the number of any other category and account for 41% of all prisoners currently serving a sentence.

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Sir Mick Jagger has said on TV that drugs should be legalised on the Isle of Man to discover what impact it would have on society. Speaking on US chat show Larry King Live, the Rolling Stones singer said the island's "captive society" should be used to "see what happens". The 66-year-old said that the island was already used as a testing ground for trying out new mobile phones. Manx MHK Bill Mallarkey said the comments were "irresponsible".

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