Council leaders have called for the sale of legal highs to be made illegal on the high street, after figures showed related deaths more than doubled in the past four years.
The Local Government Association (LGA) is calling for a complete ban on the sale of all legal highs, which it said is becoming ‘endemic’ on the country's high streets.
Statistics show that legal highs resulted in the death of 60 people last year, up from 26 in 2009. Legal highs were also responsible for more deaths than some illegal drugs such as ecstasy, with accounted for 43 deaths in 2013.
Cllr Ann Lucas OBE, chair of the LGA's Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said: ‘These are not legal highs – they are lethal highs and they are deceptively dangerous. As they are unregulated, no one knows what is really in them or what effect they will have. Young people are playing Russian roulette with their health and sometimes their lives.
‘This is all about tackling the sellers. Legal high shops are becoming endemic to our high streets, which is why we are calling on the Government to introduce robust and vigorous new laws to tackle them. The sooner we put these so-called ‘head shops' out of business for good the better.’
The LGA said the move could help reduce spending on public heath, with councils spending £830m on drug and alcohol misuse.
