poledriver
Bluelighter
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- Jul 21, 2005
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Aus - Fake drug lobby says highs 'like wine'
THE lobby group for synthetic drug retailers says artificial highs are no stronger than two glasses of wine, despite user reports of panic attacks.
The Eros Association's public relations campaign comes only weeks after Sydney teenager Henry Kwan jumped to his death from the third floor of his home under the effects of an LSD-like substance bought online by a high school friend.
The 17-year-old North Shore schoolboy's death prompted the NSW government to extend its interim ban on artificial hallucinogens.
A month before the tragedy, Queensland became the first jurisdiction in Australia to ban any synthetic that mimicked the effects of an illicit drug.
There are now calls for a federal ban.
Eros this week described synthetic drugs as a "social tonic", releasing a survey of its retail members.
"They mostly have a mild psychoactive effect which is generally one where people do not lose control of their personality or consciousness," it said.
It quoted anecdotal evidence estimating that three-quarters of legal products sold produced a "psychoactive effect that is no stronger or more intense than a couple of glasses of wine".
But a 25-year-old Brisbane professional says he will never try legal synthetic marijuana again, after a bad experience with a product known as 'incense', which a mate bought from a sex shop.
"The high didn't last as long as actual marijuana but it was far more intense," he told AAP.
"It was fun at first but after a rollercoaster of emotions I was left with some pretty intense anxiety and panic attacks.
"It might be fine for some but it certainly didn't sit well with me."
Eros chief executive Fiona Patten said Henry Kwan's death was not connected to legal synthetic highs.
But she declined to guarantee products sold legally were safe. Products such as 'kronic', 'skunk' and 'black widow' continue to be sold.
"Without regulation, it's very hard to give any guarantee," she said.
The product Henry took was not the kind sold legally at Australian adult shops.
"That substance was actually illegal, almost completely around Australia," Ms Patten said.
"It was not bought at a retail level. It was bought from a Chinese website offshore and delivered from overseas."
Brisbane-based criminal solicitor Patrick Quinn, from Creevey Russell Lawyers, says Queensland's three-month-old amendment to existing drug laws, which was actually flagged by the previous Labor government,
could see young people jailed for possessing synthetic drugs.
"With that comes the possibility of prison, not just monetary penalty," he told AAP, adding the legal changes were yet to be tested in a courtroom.
Eros says average age of synthetic drug users is 33 in metropolitan areas and two years older in the regions.
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-new...ne/story-e6frfku9-1226685114896#ixzz2a2UXr7BS
THE lobby group for synthetic drug retailers says artificial highs are no stronger than two glasses of wine, despite user reports of panic attacks.
The Eros Association's public relations campaign comes only weeks after Sydney teenager Henry Kwan jumped to his death from the third floor of his home under the effects of an LSD-like substance bought online by a high school friend.
The 17-year-old North Shore schoolboy's death prompted the NSW government to extend its interim ban on artificial hallucinogens.
A month before the tragedy, Queensland became the first jurisdiction in Australia to ban any synthetic that mimicked the effects of an illicit drug.
There are now calls for a federal ban.
Eros this week described synthetic drugs as a "social tonic", releasing a survey of its retail members.
"They mostly have a mild psychoactive effect which is generally one where people do not lose control of their personality or consciousness," it said.
It quoted anecdotal evidence estimating that three-quarters of legal products sold produced a "psychoactive effect that is no stronger or more intense than a couple of glasses of wine".
But a 25-year-old Brisbane professional says he will never try legal synthetic marijuana again, after a bad experience with a product known as 'incense', which a mate bought from a sex shop.
"The high didn't last as long as actual marijuana but it was far more intense," he told AAP.
"It was fun at first but after a rollercoaster of emotions I was left with some pretty intense anxiety and panic attacks.
"It might be fine for some but it certainly didn't sit well with me."
Eros chief executive Fiona Patten said Henry Kwan's death was not connected to legal synthetic highs.
But she declined to guarantee products sold legally were safe. Products such as 'kronic', 'skunk' and 'black widow' continue to be sold.
"Without regulation, it's very hard to give any guarantee," she said.
The product Henry took was not the kind sold legally at Australian adult shops.
"That substance was actually illegal, almost completely around Australia," Ms Patten said.
"It was not bought at a retail level. It was bought from a Chinese website offshore and delivered from overseas."
Brisbane-based criminal solicitor Patrick Quinn, from Creevey Russell Lawyers, says Queensland's three-month-old amendment to existing drug laws, which was actually flagged by the previous Labor government,
could see young people jailed for possessing synthetic drugs.
"With that comes the possibility of prison, not just monetary penalty," he told AAP, adding the legal changes were yet to be tested in a courtroom.
Eros says average age of synthetic drug users is 33 in metropolitan areas and two years older in the regions.
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-new...ne/story-e6frfku9-1226685114896#ixzz2a2UXr7BS
