Head shop owners could be charged

THE Director of Public Prosecutions is considering whether to bring charges against a number of head shop owners, the Irish Examiner has learned.

Gardaí have submitted at least three files to the DPP in relation to the suspected sale of illegal products at head stores.

Minister for Community Affairs Pat Carey, who is responsible for the national drugs strategy, praised Garda efforts.

“Gardaí have pretty robust surveillance of head shop activity going on. Three or four files have been submitted to the DPP for adjudication as to whether he would be prepared to bring charges,” he said.

Mr Carey said he did not know what the alleged offences were. However, the Irish Examiner has established that the files relate to the sale of suspected illegal products in certain head stores in Dublin city.

In addition to these files, gardaí are understood to be on the verge of submitting a substantial file relating to separate suspected offences in other head shops.

In an interview with the Irish Examiner, Mr Carey said the Government was seeking to bring in legislation that would ban head shops from operating.

He said the Attorney General, senior civil servants and gardaí were finalising proposals, including the introduction of a ban on mind-altering substances.

In the Dáil last night, Justice Minister Dermot Ahern confirmed he intended to bring in urgent legislation which would “make it a criminal offence generally to supply unregulated psychotropic substances for use by humans”.

He said he was examining giving appropriate powers “to the gardaí and the courts to intervene quickly to prevent these outlets from selling these products by way of prohibition orders”.

Gardaí may be given powers to seize suspected mind-altering products and possibly seek closure orders.

To re-open, head shop owners would then have to go to court and show what they were selling was legal.

Mr Ahern said there were “complicated drafting issues” to be resolved, but hoped to bring proposals to Government soon.

Mr Carey said the list of head shop substances scheduled to be banned should come into effect in mid-July after the three-month notification period to the EU expires.

His comments came as a health alert was issued yesterday after three young men were admitted to hospital suffering from inflammation of the heart muscle and lining of the heart after taking mephedrone, one of the substances to be banned in July.

Public health specialist with the HSE Professor Joe Barry said the cases had occurred in a Dublin hospital in the last two weeks.

Meanwhile, gardaí are investigating an arson attack on the Rasta Power head shop in Balbriggan, north Dublin, last night.