LONDON/LINCOLN, United Kingdom - April 2015: On February 24th, the City of Lincoln Councilors voted to ban people from taking ‘legal highs’ in Lincoln city centre, using a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO). The PSPO will take effect from April 1, 2015, and prohibits to “ingest, inhale, inject, smoke or otherwise use intoxicating substances” within defined areas. This is the first time that NPS, along with alcohol, are included in the definition of “intoxicating substances” for purposes of a PSPO. The PSPO allows local councils to place an order where persistent activities are having a detrimental effect on the quality of life for people in the community. Anyone who breaches the PSPO would be committing a criminal offence and could receive a Fixed Penalty Notice or face a fine in court.

 

Close to this event, the Home Office of the United Kingdom published a councilors’ guide to tackling new psychoactive substances. The guide was issued in response to concerns expressed by local authorities that head shops in their areas are causing increases in anti-social behavior and health problems. The guide aims to detail the main legal powers available for dealing with head shops and provides a description of types of offences which head shops may be committing, such as selling controlled drugs, selling drugs paraphernalia, breaching the Intoxicating Substances (Supply) Act 1985 and breaching consumer protection regulations and other legislation.