Isle of Mann -Ban deadly ‘legal high’ says father

THE father of a 17-year-old girl who died after taking a legal drug has made an emotive plea for lessons to be learned from her death. In a written statement read out at the inquest into the death of Ramsey teenager Tanya Louise Hughes, her father John said the authorities must come together to stop the availability of legal highs and their exposure to youngsters. He described his daughter as ‘a really good kid’ who would have helped anyone. He added: ‘I cannot even begin to describe the loss of Tanya and what we are going through.’ Health chiefs told the Manx Independent the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs would be considering the status of the legal high she took – MDAI – ‘as a matter of urgency’ and was expected to make its recommendation to government ‘in the next few days’.

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He described her death as a ‘great tragedy’, adding: ‘I certainly would recommend that MDAI is added to the list of controlled drugs so that it is not legal to obtain it.’ Mr Needham said: ‘The fact Tanya died shows the unpredicatable nature of these types of drugs.

‘It’s no exaggeration to say people dabbling in them are risking their lives.

‘That has got to be the safety message that comes out of this case.’ l The inquest also heard from police surgeon Dr Hassan Ridha who said that Mr McLean was arrested on April 15 on suspicion of manslaughter but was not charged. At police headquarters, it was decided he was unfit to be detained or interviewed as he was suffering from hallucinations and had slurred speech.
He was taken to hospital by ambulance, where he stayed overnight for observation.

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At police headquarters, it was decided he was unfit to be detained or interviewed as he was suffering from hallucinations and had slurred speech.

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