Legal, high and safe, or illegal and dodgy

A visit to the Whanganui Accident and Medical Clinic this week was an eye-opener.

I am one of those people who have been a bit late in realising the danger of synthetic drugs while the problems have become all too obvious.

Perhaps it's the term "synthetic drug". It seems slightly less hazardous somehow, in much the same way being addicted to prescription drugs is not seen in the same light as being a heroin junkie. Yet anything coming out of a lab can be as destructive, if not more so, than anything coming out of the ground.

On this day at the clinic, a dad came in with his two sons; one of whom had been fitting after taking synthetic drugs.

He looked pale but okay, but his earlier reaction to the drug seemed pretty scary. I wasn't ear wigging - this was said in the middle of the reception area.

The clinic is, by now, used to such cases. While the patient at the unit was calm and utterly co-operative, there has been a spike in aggressive patients at the hospital in general because of legal highs.

And if on a random day at the clinic you encounter such a case, which is likely to indicate prevalence, then we must wonder why more hasn't been done to tell people of the harm.

I may have missed it but has there been a public awareness campaign to highlight such use? So far, it seems just the media and politicians have had the discussion.

It was until recently a legal high and is comparable to alcohol. That drug has had multiple variations of campaigns around consumption, many around driving while impaired.

All the arguments around alcohol must apply to synthetic drugs. And it should be treated as a health issue, rather than just a criminal matter. The jury is out on how effective a public campaign can be on young people's behaviour, but they may be more effective as an information source for those coping with the effects in their families.

MPs on Thursday night voted 119 to one in favour of the Psychoactive Substances Bill, meaning drug manufacturers will now have to prove their products are safe before they can be sold.

Now, more than ever, people will need to know what they are dealing with - absolutely no pun intended - as some of the business goes underground.