AN increasing number of people in Scotland are buying unlicensed drugs through the internet despite limited information about their potentially lethal side-effects, police say.

Several of the drugs have already been banned in other countries. The unclassified liquid party drug GBL is outlawed in America and Sweden but not in Britain, where it is available in some health food shops and over the internet.

The British Medical Association has expressed concern that buying even prescription drugs online does not offer the necessary safeguards. The latest research shows a quarter of GPs have treated patients for side-effects caused by drugs bought on the internet.

Last week NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde warned women from all social backgrounds were injecting an unlicensed drug to give themselves an all-over tan. Melanotan is being bought online, despite reports side-effects include headaches, nausea and vomiting.

Detective Superintendent Willie MacColl, national drugs co-ordinator of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, said: "It is concerning that some people who would never risk taking more aspirin or paracetamol than the eight in 24 hours instructed on a label are willing to swallow tablets without knowing anything about their contents or side-effects.

"The police in Scotland have made a number of seizures of these different substances during investigations.

"People who use these substances need to be aware of the potentially harmful effects and it is important parents and young people who are most likely to have questions have access to credible information.

"While not controlled, these substances do have mind-altering properties and as such hold inherent dangers".

In the past year, some 60% of ecstasy tablets analysed in Scotland were actually benzylpiperazine (BZP), which can cause acute psychosis and seizures