‘Legal high’ alert after teenage boy is rushed to hospital

The teenager, from Bridlington, was rushed to hospital after suffering fits after smoking a synthetic cannabis, marketed as incense, known as Black Mamba.

He was admitted to accident and emergency at Scarborough Hospital, where he was put on a drip and monitored for several hours.

He has since recovered but his parents were so concerned they involved the police.

Police say the shop has done nothing illegal, but the drug is soon to be made illegal and classified as a class B drug.

Neighbourhood Sergeant Carl Sweeting, said: “The boy’s mother rang the police on Saturday, after she had witnessed her son in a serious condition in hospital. She thought she was going to lose him.

“Details were taken from both the teenagers involved and the parents and as a result my team started to investigate if any criminal acts had occurred.

“We have worked closely with trading standards and visited the store where the drugs was purchased.

“We spoke to the owner but he had a bit of a flippant attitude and said it’s legal and he was going to continue to do it.

“His family had also been into the shop and said did they realise he nearly died, and he said it was legal and he could sell it.

“We have got our hands tied.”

Sgt Sweeting said it had been a wake up call for the youngsters, who were at college.

He added: “Unfortunately the police and other emergency services are being called to incidents more and more where a legal high has been taken and they have had an adverse effect.

“I am gravely concerned at the further damage continued use of legal highs use will cause.”

The Yorkshire Post yesterday revealed that youngsters were being left with serious health conditions as a result of taking legal highs.

Health workers in Leeds have seen rocketing numbers of cases where users of the now banned drug ketamine have been left with bladder conditions normally seen in the elderly.

West Yorkshire Police drug coordinator Bryan Dent said young people were playing Russian roulette with their health, adding: “This is not about deprivation or class. The use of these drugs and other psychoactive substances has exploded in the past few years and continues to explode.”