A woman has spoken out about the dangers of so-called legal highs after they claimed the life of both her brothers within three years.
William McGough was 30 when he drowned in a river in Wick in 2013 and last week, his 37-year-old brother, Simon, was found dead next to a pack of psychoactive substances.
Their sister, Melanie Downie, 40, said their parents have been “completely broken” by their deaths but wanted to share their story to highlight the “addictive and destructive” nature of the substances.
Mrs Downie, 40, wrote a post on social media earlier this week which has been shared more than 1,200 times. In it, she wrote: “Yesterday I organised the funeral of my second brother in three years… the reason – legal highs.”
The drugs are easily available online and from so-called “head shops” but their sale is due to be banned when new legislation comes into force later this month.
Mrs Downie said that the both of her brothers suffered from the damaging side-effects, including psychotic episodes, caused by what are officially known as new psychoactive substances.
Mrs Downie wrote: “Simon and William were blighted with addiction, their drug of choice for the past four years was legal highs. Easily available on the internet and delivered straight to your door or from dozens of shops on any main street, marketed as safe and fun, cheap and completely legal.
“They can also be completely deadly.
“These manufacturers should be prosecuted. The websites hosting these pages should be held accountable. Kids and young people up and down the country are dying from drugs you can buy online. How many more families have to go through this?”
William was using a drug called NRG3 in the hours before he died – and in video footage he appeared inebriated. His body was pulled from the River Wick on March 23, 2013.
Simon returned to Fife shortly after his brother’s death. He died on Friday during a visit to his sister’s home in Kilbirnie in Ayrshire.
