Children's professionals to spearhead legal highs campaign

The Home Office wants children's services professionals to help design a resource pack that frontline staff can use to help engage vulnerable young people about the dangers of so-called legal highs, which replicate the effects of controlled substances but are not covered by current misuse of drugs laws, so are legal to possess or use.

The government has introduced measures to allow it to ban legal highs, such as mephedrone which was made illegal in the UK four years ago, but manufacturers quickly develop new compounds with slightly different chemical compositions to dodge the law.

The resource pack, which is expected to launch initially as a pilot, will be primarily targeted at youth workers, youth offending teams and social workers, but also teachers and substance misuse workers.

An online survey for practitioners – launched by the Home Office to help the government department collect a range of tested and proven techniques – reveals that the pack will provide workers with information and advice to help them to successfully challenge young people’s use of legal highs.

As part of this, the survey asks which resources practitioners think would keep young people engaged in services and motivate them to change their behaviours, and seeks their views on the effectiveness of role-play and quizzes.

The resource pack looks set to form the second phase of a Home Office campaign to warn 15- to 21-year-olds about the risks of taking legal highs.

The initial phase, launched in August, used radio, digital and mobile phone adverts to warn young people about the dangers of the drugs. At the time, crime and prevention minister Norman Baker said the campaign was part of a wide range of action to tackle their use.

He said: “All too often young people take their lives into their own hands by dabbling with so-called legal highs when they don’t even know if they are safe, let along legal.

“Some of these substances are proven to be more dangerous than illegal drugs and it is vital that young people are informed about the risks associated with their use.”

The online survey closes on 24 September.