Eugene Regan (Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister for the detailed presentation of this Bill. It is a case of the Legislature catching up with events on the ground. Psychoactive substances are currently controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act and under the changes made to that Act in May of this year, but they have not been sufficient to deal with this problem. It is the malleability of these drugs and the ability to change and tweak the type of drug that is being sold which creates the problem for the Oireachtas in dealing with this matter. This was brought to our attention very tragically by the death of Colm Hodkinson in Dún Laoghaire. It highlighted the difficulty we have in the Misuse of Drugs Act. He had taken magic mushrooms, which had been banned in January 2006. It takes an event such as that to bring forward measures and evidence of the extraordinary effects, both physical and mental, these legal highs have had on individuals, particularly young people, throughout the country.

While it is essentially a matter for member states to deal with this problem, I welcome the fact that in regard to this legislation the European Commission has operated the acceleration or emergency procedure under the technical standards directive and given the go ahead for it. It is also to be welcomed, as the Minister indicated, that the European Union will take a more active role in identifying and proscribing these types of substances. The work of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction has a key role to play in this respect. It has the best intelligence, it can source the information from different member states and act as a co-ordinating body at European level in identifying the types of products and acting quickly to adopt legislation. That would be of assistance to all member states dealing with this matter

Since 11 May when the Government made the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 (Controlled Drugs) (Declaration) Order 2010 which brought a large number of the legal highs under the control of the Act, there has been identification of the emergence of a series of new legal highs, which shows how difficult it is to deal with this problem and it also highlights the importance of this legislation. The HSE has issued a warning on a new legal high known as WHACK. Deputy Reilly, our Fine Gael spokesperson on health, has also identified this drug, which has been the subject of 40 reports of severe adverse reactions. These reports were issued to the National Poisons Information Centre. This legislation is important. It has my full support and that of our party. We are anxious that it would be brought into effect before the summer recess.

The HSE confirmed on 1 June that 33 of 102 head shops around the country are open once again. They are not being deterred by the legislation introduced on 11 May. I hope this legislation will have the desired effect.

I refer to a number of aspects of the legislation. In terms of equipment and utensils connected to the use of legal highs, I note the Minister said it is not his intention to proceed with a provision in that respect given the urgency of this legislation.

I also note the statement in the presentation given by the chief pharmacist at the Department of Health and Children to the committee on 1 June, that many substances fall between two stools and are neither food nor medicinal substances. The regulatory impact analysis, which was conducted by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, stated:

equipment and utensils are currently offered for sale in headshops and...placing controls on the sale of such products would be beneficial. This approach would not have any significant direct cost implications. However, as such a provision could create difficulties for needle exchange programmes and services, the Bill will not include such a provision.

I do not see that this is a justification for not dealing with these implements. We can simply have an exception for needles. The Bills digest, produced by the Oireachtas Library and Research Service, points out that these headshops sell paraphernalia that are synonymous with the use of drugs, such as bongs or water pipes, materials for rolling and lighting cigarettes, and scales. Many of these implements could be easily identified when sold in association with these legal highs and prohibited substances. I see no reason for them not to be included in the Bill, and I ask the Minister to examine that. It is a gap in the Bill and closing that gap would strengthen the Bill.

The new powers given to the Garda, the onus of proof placed on vendors, the powers of search and seizure and the prohibition order which can be introduced by a superintendent are all welcome measures. There needs to be a specific action programme, drawn up with the help of the Garda, to implement this legislation, given the urgency and the impact of these legal highs. The feedback from such a programme would be very helpful in informing future legislation and finessing the existing legislation.

The Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs indicated that there would be planning changes to prevent new headshops opening, and that this could be dealt with under the change of use of premises. I see no reference to that in the legislation and I wonder if the Minister before us can clarify whether it is intended to address that issue at some stage.

Members of the Alternative Traders of Ireland Association argue that the trade will be pushed underground and will become unregulated. That is a fallacious argument. Given that these legal highs are gateway drugs, particularly for young people, there is no basis in being deterred from introducing this legislation. The reaction to the Bill has been positive and the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown local drugs task force has welcomed it. Having been a former member of that task force, I appreciate that its members are well informed about what is happening on the ground.

The Bill's digest report shows the evidence of the effects of these drugs and states the following.

In ten days at the start of June 2010, 40 reports were received by the National Poisons Information Centre regarding persons suffering severe adverse reactions, including increased heart and breathing rates, raised blood pressure, anxiety and psychosis. Dr. Chris Luke, an Emergency Department consultant at Cork University Hospital and the Mercy University Hospital (MUH) in Cork, wrote of some of the dozen cases he had seen in the six months to January 2010 and the intense pressure casualties of legal highs were putting on emergency care facilities. Dr. Luke had previously written about the dangers of BZP and the number of patients he had seen with adverse effects.

The evidence is overwhelming. The innovation in the Bill is about how the drugs are defined. They were defined singularly under the Misuse of Drugs Acts. The broader classification is the most innovative part of the Bill and is to be welcomed.

I reserve the right to put down amendments on Committee Stage, but I do not wish to delay the introduction of this legislation, which is to be broadly welcomed.