HEAD shop owners are planning to take legal action against the Government demanding compensation for stock lost due to the sudden ban on their products.

A NUMBER of head shops reopened for business and traded in mind-altering products that were not included in the ban announced on Tuesday.

WITHIN hours of the tough law changes on legal highs being announced yesterday, head shop owners were closing their doors and emptying their shelves.

A HEAD shop owners group said they wrote to Justice Minister Dermot Ahern warning him that “private consultations” they had with gardaí led them to believe that any charges brought against them under proposed legislation would not stand up in court.

AN association of head shop owners has raised serious concerns over how the industry is being treated by gardaí and the Government.

A new body representing head shop owners is drawing up a code of conduct for the sale of legal highs.

LEGAL alternatives to drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy will no longer be sold in head shops from June onwards, the Government confirmed yesterday.

HEAD shop owners are banding together to form an association to protect their interests in light of increasing pressure on the industry.

THEY are perfectly legitimate businesses flourishing in the midst of the recession.

The sale of magic mushrooms in the state is set to be completely outlawed today following the closure of a legal loophole.

The owner of a shop in Cork city which sells magic mushrooms has failed in her bid to temporarily stop Customs seizing her shipments from Holland.

THE owners of a shop which sells hallucinogenic 'magic' mushrooms defended their business yesterday.