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Legal highs: NI parties welcome plans to ban substances

Newtownards teenager Adam Owens, whose parents called for a ban on legal highs following his tragic death
Newtownards teenager Adam Owens, whose parents called for a ban on legal highs following his tragic death Newtownards teenager Adam Owens, whose parents called for a ban on legal highs following his tragic death

POLITICAL parties in the north have welcomed British government plans for a ban on so-called legal highs.

Suppliers and producers of legal highs will face up to seven years in jail under the crackdown, revealed yesterday in the Queen's speech to parliament.

The blanket ban will prohibit and disrupt the production, distribution, sale and supply of new psychoactive substances (NPSs).

Authorities will also have greater powers to stop newly created legal highs spreading onto the streets as well as tackling so-called 'head shops' selling the substances.

New legislation will make it an offence to produce, supply, import or export psychoactive substances with a maximum sentence of seven years.

Use of NPSs has rocketed in recent years, as have the number of deaths linked to them.

In April the parents of 17-year-old Adam Owens called for a ban on legal highs after he was tragically found dead in Newtownards.

Earlier this week a shop in Larne, Co Antrim, that sells legal highs was targeted for a second time in an arson attack.

Alliance MLA for Strangford Kieran McCarthy said he was pleased with the British government's proposals to ban legal highs.

"These substances should not be available to cause harm and take the lives of people in our society," he said.

"The recent death of Newtownards teenager Adam Owens has shown the importance of banning these substances."

Sinn Féin Foyle MLA and Stormont health committee chair Maeve McLaughlin said legal highs are "causing misery in many communities".

"The British government has now signalled its intention to bring forward legislation to tackle these toxic substances and they must now ensure that any legislation is robust," she said.

DUP Upper Bann MP David Simpson said: "The commitment to legislate provides us with the opportunity to take action and help prevent some of the damage done by these drugs."

The Psychoactive Substances Bill will specifically exclude alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, food and medical products, as well as drugs that are already controlled.

It will also include a provision for civil sanctions to tackle suppliers of NPSs in some cases, as well as powers to seize and destroy the products.

The British government said it is focusing on the supply of legal highs, so the new laws will not include a personal possession offence.