‘Head shop customers are walking guinea pigs’

FOR something not fit for human consumption, it’s a strange sales pitch: “Introducing our New Party Powder, Pure NRG. This 1 gram Party Powder gives a little lift to any party and keeps you going all night long.”

That’s according to the Irish Head Stores website, which operates one of the busiest shops in Dublin and whose parent company in Britain runs an internet delivery service.

And Pure NRG seems to be attracting users here whose favourite powders and bath salts, many containing mephedrone, were dramatically taken off the shelves on May 11, after the Government suddenly introduced its ban on a range of legal highs.