PARENTS are being warned about the dangers of so-called “legal highs”.

They have been alerted to the issue by the drug and alcohol action team at Worcestershire County Council .

Legal high is the term used for novel psychoactive substances, which have been chemically altered to get around existing drug laws. There has been an increase in their use by young people in Worcestershire in line with national trends.

Worcestershire's Drug and Alcohol Action Team (DAAT) wants to highlight the fact that just because a substance is legal does not mean it is safe.

As well as warning thousands of people who attend music festivals across the country over the summer, where many drugs are advertised and sold as legal highs, there is also a warning to those who might buy them closer to home or over the internet.

Debbie Herbert, programme lead for Young People for the DAAT, said: "It is important for parents and young people to be aware of the risks of legal highs and particularly the danger of the often unknown ingredients and their potential side-effects.

"These substances are freely available in the form of powders, tablets, liquids and herbal preparations. They will not be labelled as legal highs and could even be labelled as 'not for human consumption', 'for research purposes only', or even sold as room deodorisers.

"The message to parents is - if you don't know what the substance is, your son or daughter could be at serious risk by using it.

“For more information about drugs, alcohol and young people, please see our range of fact sheets online worcestershire-daat.org.uk [follow links to Young People pages within the professionals area of the website] or use our QR code."