TODD FITZGERALD Sex abuse fears for girls on legal highs
AN MP has voiced concerns about teenagers taking mind-bending ‘ legal highs’ becoming victims of sexual abuse at the hands of predators stalking the streets.
Stockport MP Ann Coffey, a vocal child safety campaigner, has warned that young girls using the potentially- lethal psychoactive substances could be at risk of being groomed.
She worries vulnerable youngsters, experimenting with legal highs, could become hooked on the substances, with perverted men becoming their ‘suppliers’.
Ms Coffey said: “The problem with legal highs – aside from the health implications – is that they can lead to a rise in anti-social behaviour, which affects everyone.
“I’m also very concerned about young people taking these substances are vulnerable to predators on the streets, who can take advantage of them.
“Clearly, for anyone but especially young people, taking these drugs does make you very vulnerable.
“Young people could be taken advantage of when they’re in that state of mind.”
Earlier this month our sister paper the Manchester Evening News revealed the shocking truth about legal highs being freely sold on the streets of Greater Manchester.
Children as young as 12 are now reportedly smoking potentially-lethal substances without knowing what they are – or what the consequences could be.
Ms Coffey’s comments come as Stockport’s Labour group is calling for ministers to give council bosses and police more powers to tackle the rise of legal highs.
The group – backed by the borough’s Tory party – is calling for a blanket ban on all substances.
A Psychoactive Substances Bill was announced in the Queen’s Speech.
It would make it an offence to produce, supply, offer to supply, possess with intent to supply, import or export legal highs.
A scheme has already been launched in Stockport to prevent the sale of products such as nitrous oxide and poppers - but it is voluntary.
The responsible retailer scheme has seen three out of 13 businesses identified as selling legal highs sign up to pledge they will take them off the shelves.
Ms Coffey said that scheme, is ‘not going far enough’ and is backing a blanket ban so sellers don’t simply alter products and rebrand them.