Call for a new drugs hotline to stop club deaths

Graeme Pearson, the founder of the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA), has suggested that an anonymous hotline could help to cut the number of young adults overdosing on illegal and recreational drugs in night clubs. The proposed scheme will allow club-goers to report clubs that have a problem.

Mr Pearson explained to the Evening Times: “If you wanted to report a drugs issue to a club, who would you go to? A phone line, where you can anonymously leave messages about drug issues within clubs, would help deal with this problem.”

Legal highs and ecstasy tablets are becoming more dangerous every year; in fact, Mr Pearson believes that they are often as dangerous as class A drugs such as heroin and cocaine. In addition to the Mortal Kombat drugs that have been circulating in Scotland, another drug, which has been called only the ‘pink Superman’ pill, has been linked with several deaths. It is thought to contain PMA, which is the same ecstasy-like substance that was found in Mortal Kombat pills.

Mr Pearson has made the proposal following the recent death of teenager Regane MacColl at Glasgow’s Arches nightclub.

There seems to be a growing perception among young adults that drugs are safe. People are freely experimenting with different drugs in clubs and many are unaware of the dangers involved. Young people believe that legal highs must be safer than heroin and cocaine.

The biggest problem is that when you buy a tablet in a club you can never know what it actually contains. Legal highs are not regulated and manufacturers often add ingredients to boost their effect, as this increases future sales.

A telephone hotline would allow club-goers to report dealing in real time and this could provide the police and club managers with the opportunity to tackle the crime head on.