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Young Islanders are playing a dangerous game with their lives taking drugs which could be re-named “lethal highs” according to Jersey’s Medical Officer of Health.
Dr Susan Turbull said that people have become “human guinea pigs” for manufacturers and dealers who are marketing new substances all the time with no way of gauging what their effects and side effects are.
She said: “Our young people are living in uncharted territory. So, rather than focusing on the specifics of a substance that is now just one among hundreds (if not more) of drugs that may or may not be illegal - and may or may not be lethal - the real message now should be that people taking any drugs nowadays are playing a dangerous version of Russian Roulette.”
Dr Turnbulls’ warning comes after the suspicious death of 17 year old Jared Harrison at the weekend. Police think Jared had been taking a white powder, believed to be MDMA and they have warned anyone who has bought the drug, not to take it.
She said: “Some of the newer substances are many times stronger than the better known street drugs they were ‘designed’ to replace – and may also take longer to work, so some people take multiple doses with potentially fatal results.
“These risks are not theoretical - the rising death toll shows how real they are.”
The Health department have recently re-released a drugs guide for parents which they have updated and are now considering launching a new social media campaign to highlight the dangers of these “lethal highs”.
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