DUNGANNON Police have been praised for thwarting the selling of dangerous drugs known as 'legal highs' in the town.
A range of substances including GBL, BZP and man made chemicals sprayed on herbal smoking products such as ‘Spice', which had been available in so-called ‘head shops’, were banned last month under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
DUP MLA Maurice Morr
ow praised the police for their ‘decisive and positive action’ in removing them from the Dungannon shop.
He was speaking after the owner of a similar shop in Derry was left injured in a gun attack.
“Although I have been critical of the police in the past, I highly commend them for their actions in bringing a close to this situation”, said the Dungannon peer.
“It has been clearly documented that these substances are ‘doorway drugs’ and can introduce the user to harder drugs.
“The people behind these shops had been able to exploit a loophole in the law, but thankfully that loophole has now been removed.
“The police’s response demonstrates that no one should have to take the law into their own hands.
“I want to emphasise that we don’t need a mafia crowd to deal with this problem.”
A police spokesperson said the action was taken after the drugs were made illegal at the end of December.
“One of the drugs, BZP, was banned after it caused the deaths of two users in England”, he said.
“We would stress that even if a drug is legal, some of them are anything but safe.
“They are potentially lethal, in particular, where young people are concerned. Anything that impairs your judgement should not be taken as it can lead to all sorts of personal dangers. “
