Significant haul of ‘legal highs’ seized in Highlands crackdown
SUBSTANCES worth more than £9,000, described as ‘legal highs’, have been seized from the Highlands.
Almost 400 products capable of causing ‘long-term mental health problems’ were taken from two premises in a crackdown by Highland Council, Police Scotland, NHS Highland and the Highland Alcohol and Drug Partnership.
This comes after the new psychoactive substances (NPS) were found to be unsafe and in breach of the General Product Safety Regulations, despite being controversially known as ‘legal’ highs.
A Highland Council spokesperson would not disclose where the premises supplying the substances were, but said one was in a retail outlet while the other was an online business operating from a ‘domestic premises’.
Brian Mackay, temporary Chief Inspector of South Highland Command, Highland and Islands Division, Police Scotland said: ‘Together with Highland Council Trading Standards and NHS Highland we are delighted to work in collaboration to tackle the threat, risk and harm NPS cause to our local communities. The advice of Police Scotland is again straightforward – don’t take these substances. Just because they are referred to as ‘legal’ doesn’t mean they are safe. There is no ‘safe’ way to take NPS, there is always a risk. The only way of staying safe is to avoid NPS altogether.’
Hugo Van Woerden, Director of Public Health at NHS Highland, explained how dangerous NPS can be: ‘We were very pleased to play our part in this. We are extremely concerned about the risk that some individuals will consume such substances and come to harm. A small but significant proportion of individuals who take psychoactive substances go on to experience short term or long term mental health problems. The NHS regularly sees people whose lives have been ruined by these products.’
So- called legal highs can’t be sold for human consumption so are often labelled as incense, salts or plant food. Drug advice charity, Frank, describes many ingredients found in them as being linked to poisoning, emergency hospital visits and, in some cases, death.
It states: ‘Just because a drug is called a ‘legal high’ doesn’t mean that it’s safe. It is becoming increasingly clear that they are far from harmless and can have similar health risks to drugs like cocaine, ecstasy and speed (amphetamine).
‘Risks of legal highs can include a wide range of effects depending on whether they are stimulants like cocaine, depressant drugs like cannabis, or hallucinogenic drugs like magic mushrooms. These include agitated and paranoid states, reduced inhibitions, drowsiness, coma, seizures, and death. The risks are usually increased if they are used with alcohol or other drugs.
Anyone with information regarding the supply of NPS is urged to contact Trading Standards.