As his friends played football, Shalon Abela would be in the school toilet sniffing gas lighters and glue. He was just 12.

Over the years, he progressed from soft drugs to harsher stuff and, 10 years on, at 22, he was on his deathbed – twice – after smoking synthetic marijuana. Having survived, he will now not rest until “people know these drugs can be fatal”.

Synthetic drugs have been on the international and local market since 2010 and are readily available on the internet. Sometimes they are sold off as ‘plant food’ or ‘bath salts’. Side effects can range from intense excitement to hallucinations, nausea and heart-racing but several cases of deaths have been reported around the world.

For 10 years, Mr Abela was a junkie. “There was no drug I didn’t try,” he said, adding it made it easier for him to cope with some “terrible blows” in life.

Nine months ago, he met his girlfriend, Shannon. “It made me decide that it was time to start sorting out my life,” he said. He weaned himself of all drugs except for synthetic weed. Manufactured in unlicensed labs, it is cheaper than natural hemp and cannot be traced in urine.

To his mind, the fact that he stopped binging on smack, heroin and coke and “all sorts of other drugs”, was a huge leap forward. In practice, it was nearly fatal.

One day, eight months ago, after smoking a joint, he started sweating profusely, throwing up violently and suffering from extreme fluctuations in temperatures, until he passed out. He was taken to hospital and put on an intravenous drip for five days. His severe dehydration was compounded by a sudden decrease in red blood cells.

He immediately informed the medical staff that he had taken synthetic cannabis but, as the drug left no trace in his body, they could not pinpoint the cause and he was diagnosed with bronchitis.

Feeling reassured that it was not a drug side effect, a week later he smoked again. “Within hours I was slumped on the floor,” he said.

By the time he got to hospital he was passing out every 15 minutes and vomiting each time he came round.

“If my girlfriend had not been next to me I would have choked on my own vomit.”

I have been labelled enough in my life. Another label won’t make a difference

This time, there was no doubt the drug was the cause. There and then he resolved not to touch drugs again. “Life is too short. I had come to understand I had a problem. I was just throwing away my life.”

He enrolled in the Caritas evening programme and has been clean for the past eight months. He wants to make it clear he does not come from a “familja mħarbta” (troubled background). His parents, he said as his eyes welled up, gave him a very traditional, loving upbringing.

“When I think about what I made my parents go through...” he trailed off, explaining after a pause that he was only now coming to terms with his past selfish actions. I’d sell all the gadgets my mother had worked so hard for to get my hands on drugs.”

His mother has forgiven him but he has yet to forgive himself. “I made the people close to me go through hell.”

He now wants to go to the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology to take a course in care and substance abuse. “I want to help in the same way others helped me,” he said. This will be a milestone for Mr Abela, seeing as he quit school in Form 3 because of his drug habit.

This evening he will be sharing his experience on Xarabank, which has dedicated the programme to raise funds for Caritas.

He is not afraid of showing his face. “I have been labelled enough in my life. Another label won’t make a difference. I wronged so many people, I cannot do anything worse than that.”

The law:

The law is still vague about synthetic cannabis, known as Spice or K2.

As it is mostly untraceable in body fluids, it is very difficult to prove drug use in court, according to Moses Camilleri from Sedqa.

“Because it is not yet officially illegal, there is a tendency for people to think it is safe, which is not the case at all,” Dr Camilleri said.

The recently enacted Drug Dependence Act states that possession of less than 3.5g of cannabis will carry penalties, between €50 and €100.

So far, synthetic cannabis is not listed as an illegal substance.