Mar 10th 2009

Moseley shop accused of dealing in 'legal highs'

A Moseley store is selling herbal products which experts fear could cause psychiatric damage.

Zen, which has stores in Moseley and Birmingham City Centre, is selling a range of products including the ‘hallucinogenic’ Purple Ohms and the Ecstasy substitute Buzzy Bees. Zen has defended the sales as legal and claims that they are a safe alternative to illegal drugs.

Clubbers have recently been warned that taking cocktails of ‘herbal highs’ could lead to long-term psychiatric damage. A consultant of Addiction Psychiatry at Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation commented that there was an increasing market for these products but that just because they are labelled as herbal and available in health shops doesn’t mean they are safe.

Store owner Sylvia Chandler commented that “There are a lot of people who do not want to deal with illegal drugs but want to take something which has been manufactured to pharmaceutical standards – a safe, clean alternative.”