Headshops may have gone away but deadly ‘designer’ drugs are still easily available

Claire O'Sullvan examines where these synthetic drugs are coming from and gets advice for parents on how to talk to teens about them

THE only way to stop your children trying out the likes of U-47700 (U4), the synthetic drug that likely killed a 16-year-old in Cork this week, is to make them afraid of them.

That’s the view of Chris Luke, a consultant in emergency medicine at Cork University Hospital and Mercy University Hospital, who regularly gives talks on drugs in schools.