Legal high-related 999 callouts across Shropshire soar

Since April there have been 105 phone calls to emergency services that cover Shropshire which are linked to psychoactive substances.

The figures, which specifically relate to a mention of "Black Mamba", show a drastic increase in the number of so-called legal highs, which mimic the effects of drugs such as cocaine, cannabis and ecstasy.

In April, West Midlands Ambulance Service was called eight times where Black Mamba was mentioned, but so far this month that number alone has risen to 39. In May, there were nine calls, June recorded 20 and July had 29.

The Government has announced a crackdown on legal highs such as Black Mamba – a brand of synthetic cannabis, which the Government banned in 2012 – only for the suppliers to get round the law by varying the recipe slightly.

Murray MacGregor, communications director of West Midlands Ambulance Service, said this was just the tip of the iceberg in relation to the number of people who have taken a legal high and ended up dialling 999.

He said: "In the vast majority of cases the caller doesn't mention that the patient has taken a legal high or gives us the name of the substance when they dial 999.

"They'll say the patient has been having a seizure, convulsions, is unconscious or whatever and it is only once the crew arrive that they see the packet or their mates fess up. It's impossible to say why that is – whether it's because they are worried that someone will find out, aren't sure of the legality or whatever, who knows."

Across the West Midlands, ambulance staff are now regularly having to deal with patients who have taken legal highs.

Paramedic Cameron McVittie added: "We're seeing lots of people who have smoked or even eaten Black Mamba. The fact that it states on packets 'not for human consumption' doesn't seem to matter – better take the advice."

Fellow paramedic Jack Lewis added: "One of the most sick patients I've been to took a legal high. They may be 'legal' but they are so dangerous. There is also now evidence that their use may increase the risk of later developing psychotic illnesses including schizophrenia."

Charlotte Delo, of Hadley, Telford, lost her brother Jamie Penn last year after he took the then-legal stimulant 4,4-DMAR, which he bought from a woman in Shrewsbury.

She said: "They don't know what they are selling. If they looked into it a bit more, they wouldn't sell it."

4,4-DMAR was outlawed in March this year, the month after an inquest heard how Mr Penn suffered a horrific death.