Youngsters in a north-east port are using a smartphone app to arrange drug and legal high sessions.
The Yik Yak social media platform allows users to post anonymous messages on a bulletin board which can be seen by anyone linked to the service within a five-mile radius.
And in Fraserburgh it is being used to spread the word quickly about drug-taking sessions across the town.
Last night, politicians and drug counsellors warned parents to be vigilant to their children’s online habits amid fears the craze could lead to an explosion in the number of youngsters experimenting with so called “new psychoactive substances”.
One message posted on the app in the past few days invited anyone interested in taking legal highs to go to the local skate park – a popular haunt Fraserburgh’s youth.
Yik Yak, which was launched in 2013, has previously been criticised by school groups for allowing bullying to be promoted.
The chairman of Fraserburgh’s Community Safety group, local councillor Brian Topping, said: “I’m certainly shocked to hear about this, but it’s not surprising.
“There’s dangers and problems that go hand-in-hand with legal highs and it’s very concerning.
“Obviously you don’t know what’s in them. It’s like playing Russian roulette with your life.
“Parents have got to be keeping an eye on their children who could be looking for a buzz or who want to try something different.
“This could be the last thing they ever experience and that’s the last thing anyone wants.”
Ronnie McNab, the chairman of the town’s community council, branded the people advertising the drugs as “criminal”.
“They’re a danger to young people – we don’t fully know the damage they can do,” he said.
“When it comes to legal highs, their effects on people are well documented. As for the people who are advertising them on this app, I think it’s criminal.”
The pairs’ concerns were backed by leading drug rehabilitation charities.
Simon Pringle, a service manager for Aberdeen-based Drugs Action, which offers advice to addicts and their families, said many legal highs were not safe for human consumption.
He said: “Sometimes the term ‘legal high’ can give the false impression that these substances are safe, but we are regularly hearing of people getting into difficulties after taking them.”
Luan Grugeon, chief executive of the charity, added that legal highs were not just a problem for young people.
“It’s people across the age spectrum. Just because something is legal doesn’t mean it’s safe,” she said.
Local mum Lindsay Schuitema, who was part of Fraserburgh Community Safety Group’s efforts to raise awareness of the dangers posed by the substances earlier this year, said children as young as 14 had apparently been talking about and purchasing drugs.
Her son had become trapped in a cycle of legal high use after experimenting with them last year.
“The problem is that kids are seeing these things as legal – as if there’s nothing wrong with it,” she said.
“Although I couldn’t get any support, there is actually a lot out there. Just keep an eye on your kids. I just want them to be aware of these things.”
The Angelus Foundation, which has published a guide for parents on spotting drug misuse, said the effects of legal highs included delusions and even psychotic episodes.
A spokesman said: “Addiction becomes much more likely if they are taken regularly and can lead to a spiral of damaging behaviour where relationships break down and ambition and drive is lost.”
Drugs Action can be contacted on 01224 594700.
No one at Yik Yak was available to comment.