A father has hit out at legal high shops after his severely depressed son was repeatedly sold the psychoactive substances.
The Perth man, who does not want to be named, said he has previously been forced to resuscitate his adult son when he became ill after taking the drugs.
The 32-year-old suffered a fit at his parents’ house in the early hours of Sunday morning and was taken to Perth Royal Infirmary (PRI).
He has been hospitalised on three previous occasions after buying the substances from This N That on County Place.
His father has now called on the Scottish Government to do more to prevent the sale of legal highs to vulnerable individuals, adding that he feared next time his son would die.
He said: “These legal highs are poisoning him. They are not tested properly.
“Every time he’s depressed he goes and spends a lot of money on legal highs. He’s a vulnerable adult and he’s able to walk into the shop and buy these things.
“He takes them to escape the world it’s a form of self-harm. He says he can’t help taking them, it’s an addiction.
“They are selling this stuff like they are selling kitchen utensils. They have a notice saying ‘not for human consumption’ and they think that clears them.”
He added: “It’s a good thing he stayed with us that night because he would be dead otherwise he vomited and, if he’d been on his back, he would have choked.
“I don’t know where to turn. I’m desperate next time it’s going to kill him. He’s not going to survive another night like this we’re not always going to be there when he collapses, we were lucky this time.”
He added that his son once ended up in a coma, having choked after passing out while under the influence of legal highs.
Perth City Centre councillor Peter Barrett, said measures taken against such stores, often referred to as head shops, had met with great success in Northern Ireland and he called on Scottish landlords to refuse to let premises to legal high dealers.
He said: “This isn’t the first time that people have ended up in PRI as a consequence of ingesting drugs sold at a shop trading openly, and with apparent impunity, in the heart of the city centre.
“Labelling these products ‘not for human consumption’ is a sham. How many people will be poisoned and hospitalised before the owners of this shop kick these new drug dealers out or before the police act to protect our citizens?
“What more do head shop operators have to do to demonstrate to their landlords the reckless endangerment and injury new psychoactive substances cause to members of our community?
“In Northern Ireland the police adopted a zero tolerance approach to head shops. They contacted landlords, explained in detail the precise nature of the trade in so-called legal highs and the dangers they present.
“As a result, three quarters of head shops were shut down.
“In Perth, the police take a different approach and it doesn’t seem to be working.”
A police spokeswoman said: “Legal highs are a growing concern for both local communities and Police Scotland and we take this matter extremely seriously.
“We are currently investigating potential criminality and officers will continue to focus on these shops and work with elected members and partners to disrupt their activities, utilising all legal means available.
“Shops selling these substances show a careless disregard for their customers’ welfare and the wider interests of the community.
“Our message is simple keep safe by avoiding these products.”
Attempts by The Courier to contact the owner of This N That were unsuccessful.