UK's First Ban on 'Legal Highs' Comes in Today

Lincoln is the first city to ban people taking 'legal highs' in public.

Image: publc domain

Today, Lincoln becomes the first city in the UK to ban people taking legal highs in public. In February, Lincoln Council voted to bring in a 'public spaces protection order' (PSPO) which bans activities that "have had a detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality". The PSPO gives Lincoln police the power to confiscate the substances and give fines to those breaking the order.

Legal highs, substances that give the same effects as illegal drugs, have been a big debate in the UK recently. The government have already banned over 500 types of legal high but, as manufacturers simply tweak the recipe and make them legal again, ministers have said they want to bring in a new law based on the effect of the drug rather than what it contains.

Since the vote, Lincoln's two head shops have closed down. We'll have to wait and see what happens, will the ban stop anti-social behavior and protect kids from putting relatively unregulated stuff in their bodies or send kids to stuff that's actually illegal?

 

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