POLICE are warning taking legal highs puts your ‘health and life on the line’ after figures revealed incidents involving legal highs in Dorset have more than trebled in the last three years.

According to figures obtained by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Dorset Police recorded four incidents involving ‘legal highs’ in 2011, compared to 18 in 2014 – an increase of 350 per cent.

Responses to the CSJ were obtained after the think tank asked police forces across the UK how many incidents were recorded where the term ‘legal high’ was logged.

The term ‘legal highs’ refer to new psychoactive substances that mimic the effects of illegal drugs - such as cocaine, cannabis and amphetamines - but escape the law by having a slightly different chemical composition.

Detective Superintendent of Dorset Police, Mark Callaghan, said: “Just because a substance is sold in a shop or on the internet as 'legal' does not mean it is legal or safe.

“The reality is that many of these products either contain substances which are illegal, or uncontrolled substances with unknown or unpredictable side-effects.

“Due to the dangers they may pose the police work alongside Trading Standards to disrupt the supply of legal highs.

“I would like to make people aware of the potential risks of using any products labelled ‘legal highs’ as they are gambling with their health and potentially their lives.”

The police figures come weeks after Lincoln became the first UK city to ban the consumption of legal highs.

Police incidents involving legal highs include reports of antisocial behaviour, domestic crime, medical concerns, missing people, nuisance or rowdy behaviour, suspicious activity or violent crime.

Where Dorset County Council Trading Standards are made aware of the sale of legal highs, they take action to prevent the supply of unsafe products.

If anyone has any information regarding the sale of legal highs report it to Trading Standards on 03454 040506.

New laws planned to ban supply of legal highs

THE government is planning to bring in new legislation to make it an offence to produce, supply, import or export legal highs.

The Psychoactive Substances Bill is currently being debated in Parliament and is likely to come into force in spring 2016.

Recent CSJ analysis showed that the number of people in treatment for taking legal highs rose by 216 per cent in England in the last five years.

The CSJ said the UK has the highest number of legal high users amongst young people in Europe.
It has called for police and courts to be given new powers to close ‘head shops’, of which there are around 250 in the UK, that sell legal highs.