A new “legal high” is found every week in Europe alone, the head of the United Nations’ drugs watchdog has warned, ten times as many as were discovered a decade ago. The “disturbing phenomenon” has also seen the number of internet sites selling legal highs quadruple to more than 600 in two years, the UN International Narcotics Control Board found. Britain is at the heart of a global surge in so-called legal highs, but different laws in neighbouring European countries are hindering efforts to crack down on the market, the board said.
It also warned medical use of cannabis in the United States was offering a "backdoor for legalisation" and giving access to marijuana to “almost anybody”.
Raymond Yans, the board’s president, said: “New psychoactive substances represent a growing threat to public health and we have seen unprecedented levels of abuse in recent years. “It is estimated there are thousands of new psychoactive substances on the market now.”
