Traders warned of new law banning ‘lethal highs’
Officers from Birmingham City Council’s Trading Standards team and West Midlands Police took part in a joint operation to warn traders across the city about an upcoming ban on ‘legal highs’
Letters were given to 14 retailers selling new psychoactive substances (NPS), warning them of their potentially lethal consequences, as part of a day of action in the West Midlands yesterday (21 January 2016).
Cllr Barbara Dring, Chair of the city council’s Licensing and Public Protection Committee, said: “Trading Standards officers, working in partnership with West Midlands Police, visited 21 shops across Birmingham, advising that it will be illegal to sell New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) under new legislation, due to come into effect in April.
“Of those, 14 premises were selling NPS and were given advice letters explaining the coming change in the law. In light of this 13 businesses vowed to stop stocking NPS products to comply with legislation.
“Many NPS products are labelled as ‘research chemicals’ or ‘not for human consumption’, so these should be described as ‘lethal highs’. People who choose to use NPS should keep the packaging so, should they experience ill effects, medics will know what has been taken.”
To read the full release, visit the West Midlands Police website.
