The National Assembly’s Health and Social Care Committee is holding an inquiry into new psychoactive substances, also known as ‘legal highs’.
The Committee wants to know how aware people are of legal highs and the potential harm they can cause. The Committee will also consider:
whether changes to the law in Wales or at a UK level could help tackle the issue of legal highs;
whether local services have the capacity to deal with the impact of people using legal highs;
what can be learned from approaches taken to legal highs by other governments around the world.
An anonymous online survey will also be released by the end of July asking people to share their experiences of - and opinions about - legal highs.
The Committee will also be asking the Welsh Government, police, health services and other relevant organisations what is being done to educate and advise people about the risks associated with taking these drugs.
“The term ‘legal highs’ is something of a misnomer because it suggests to people that these substances are safe,” said David Rees AM, Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee.
“We intend to establish a true picture of how widespread the use of new psychoactive substances is in Wales and how much people know about the harm they can cause.
“To do that, we need people to tell us about their own experiences including what they know about legal highs and where they got that information from.
“This isn’t about catching people out or judging people for the decisions they make. It’s about making sure they have the necessary education and advice to make informed choices and do so fully aware of the potential risks.”
The closing date for the consultation is Friday, 26 September 2014 and more information about the online survey will be posted to the Committee’s Twitter feed, @SeneddHealth.
People can also join in the conversation using #LegalHighs.
If you or somebody you know has been affected by the use of legal highs, or would like more information about them, you can contact Dan 24/7 for confidential advice.
More information about the inquiry into new psychoactive drugs (“legal highs”) can be found here.