HITS ON HIGH ST
AN exotic “drug” is still on sale on the high street.
“Legal high” paan can be picked up in Indian, Pakistani and Thai communities for just £1 a time.
Its main ingredients – the betel leaf and nut – have a psychoactive effect so they are illegal to supply under a law brought in to outlaw so-called legal highs.
But despite police cracking down on substances such as mephedrone and nitrous oxide, paan is still readily available.
Now young Britons have realised they can get a hit from the mixture.
Paan, inset, is a combination of betel nut, desiccated coconut, coloured sugar and spices wrapped in a betel leaf.
Our reporter was able to buy paan easily from “parlours” in north west London, despite the introduction of the Psychoactive Substances Act.
An insider told us: “Sales of paan haven’t dwindled at all since the Act came in.
“Not one official has stopped by. Apparently there’s some sort of guidance online but paan parlours still sell to anyone and everyone.
“Local teenagers who aren’t from Indian families have cottoned on to being able to use it like legal highs.
“Demand has grown and grown since legal highs stopped being legal and it’s only going to get worse.”
The Act states that the production or supply of any product that “produces a psychoactive effect” is an offence.
There is a loophole for those buying it as part of a meal but at no point did paan sellers question our reporter about its intended use.
At shops in Alperton, including the Panachand Pan House, the Pan Parlour and Din Pan Parlour, staff made the legal high to order for our reporter.
One shop worker, who asked not to be named, said they “never asked customers what the paan was for”.
In high doses, betel nut can produces effects similar to cocaine, including elevated heart rate, high blood pressure, dilated pupils, anxiety, insomnia and cardiac arrhythmia. NHS England has warned that betel can increase the risk of contracting cancer and metabolic syndrome, a combination of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity. And in a 2012 report, the World Health Organisation said paan poses a “significant public health problem” in countries where it is commonly consumed. There is also a ban on importing betel leaves from Bangladesh in place until June 30, 2018, because of salmonella concerns. Despite the restriction the production of paan continues unchecked. Our source added: “It’s only a matter of time before kids realise paan is the new weed and they can get their hands on it a hell of a lot easier.” A Met Police spokesman said: “The Metropolitan Police Service is committed to reducing the harm caused by all drugs, and the new legislation gives us a full range of powers needed to prevent the harm caused by psychoactive substances.” The Home Office confirmed that it is an offence to supply any substance to be consumed for its psychoactive effect.