Torfaen MP Paul Murphy has called on the UK Government and Welsh Assembly to work together to tackle the “terrible plague” of legal highs.
During the annual St David’s Day debate in the House of Commons, Mr Murphy expressed his fears about the increasing prevalence of legal highs and about the health and social impacts of their use in communities across Britain. He called for more powers for local communities to close so-called ‘head shops’ in their area.
The Torfaen MP told how two such shops had opened locally, one in Pontnewwyd and one in Newport. In October last year these shops were raided by the police and 58 substances were sent away for testing. However, only months later the proprietor was able to open another shop in Pontypool, despite the Council, local AM and MP and Police working together and over 170 local people signing a petition.
Speaking during the debate, Mr Murphy said: “It simply cannot be right that these dangerous products are still being sold to people and that local authorities are powerless to stop the damage they are doing.
“The people using these substances have no idea what they are taking and no way of knowing the possible dangers or the long term health risks of doing so. The reality is that ‘legal highs’ are just as dangerous as illegal drugs, if not more so, because people unwittingly think they are safe because they are ‘legal’ and being sold on the local high street.
The Torfaen MP drew attention to the way the dealers of these dangerous substances are targeting young people. He pointed out that the Facebook page of Chill Head Shop South Wales had a number of ‘friends’ who were clearly still at school and had used children’s cartoon characters to advertise and promote drug use.
“Parents in Torfaen need urgent action now to tackle this scourge on our streets. Inaction risks further damage to our young people’s health and the health of our local communities, and, I fear, more tragic and preventable deaths.
“We must give local communities the power to close head shops in their area so that shops like the one in Pontypool no longer put our children in danger. We must also use all available avenues to challenge the idea that ‘legal’ equals ‘safe’ and to highlight how wicked and dangerous these substances really are.”
Closing the debate, Secretary of State for Wales, David Jones thanked Mr Murphy for raising this important issue and reiterated the need to raise awareness of the dangers of legal highs.
