NSW to ban synthetic drugs THE NSW government will ban a range of synthetic drugs following the death of teenager Henry Kwan who jumped to his death from a balcony after taking a drug bought online for two dollars. Fair Trading minister Anthony Roberts will on Sunday announce an interim ban on a range of substances currently available in NSW shops. The move comes after Mr Roberts last week sent out officers across the state to identify the locations and types of drugs being sold. An initial 30 drugs will be prohibited for 90 days, during which time he will urge federal authorities to implement a permanent ban. More "legal highs" could be added to the list as they were identified, a spokesman said. "We've identified a number of products so that's a starting point," a spokesman said. The 17-year-old Sydney school boy jumped off a balcony after taking a synthetic hallucinogen, sparking warnings about the dangers of synthetic drugs. However critics say the statewide ban will be useless against drugs available online and could even push people towards more dangerous substances that can be bought on the internet. Mr Roberts says he will write to federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek and assistant treasurer David Bradbury seeking their support for a permanent ban. "These synthetic drugs have caused significant harmful and in some instances fatal side effects," Mr Roberts said in a statement. New and different substances regularly appear on the drug market and it is challenging for governments to deal with this constantly changing environment, with it requiring action at both state and federal levels. The ban includes synthetic cannabinoids and products labelled as "bath salts" or "plant food," as well as products mimicking the effects of cocaine and methamphetamine. Professor Michael Farrell of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre says putting an emphasis on the responsibility of retailers is an important step in tackling what is an international problem. "There's probably one new drug being brought onto the market every week in Europe and they're basically being produced in places like China and India," he told Seven's Sunday Sunrise. They're basically playing cat and mouse with our drug laws and there's a need for us to find new ways to regulate them.