The Scottish justice secretary faces a grilling after the Crown Office dropped a potentially landmark Angus prosecution against legal highs shop owners.
Answers will be demanded from Kenny MacAskill by North East Scotland MSP Alex Johnstone after justice chiefs decided to ditch a case against an Angus legal highs shop for selling a range of drug-taking paraphernalia.
The Courier can reveal that High Life on Montrose High Street was raided by police in July last year under a drugs search warrant and a stash of bongs, pipes and other equipment was seized from the store.
A “minimal quantity” of controlled substances was also found during the raid.
A report was submitted to the procurator fiscal in Arbroath following the raid seeking prosecution under Section 9A of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, which prohibits the sale of drug-taking equipment.
The COPFS said there was “insufficient evidence” to lead a prosecution and scrapped the case, but that move was slammed by Mr Johnstone, who first met campaigners in December to discuss the growing problem in Angus.
A Crown Office spokesperson said: “The Procurator Fiscal at Arbroath received a report concerning a 23-year-old male, in connection with an alleged incident on 16 July 2013.
“After full and careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the report, the Procurator Fiscal decided that there was insufficient evidence to raise criminal proceedings.”
Mr Johnstone said the Crown Office’s decision was “deeply regrettable” and cited a similar case in England which led to an £800 fine for a shop owner in Leeds.
MSP Mr Johnstone said: “This is a deeply frustrating and disappointing decision by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.
“I will be contacting the Procurator Fiscal to ask for clarification on their decision, and I will also be raising this issue with the Justice Secretary.
“Given the successful conviction in Yorkshire in similar circumstances, the police presented an excellent opportunity to send a clear message that we do not want legal highs and drug paraphernalia in our communities, and it is deeply regrettable that the COPFS chose not to take it.
“Many people are astonished that drug taking equipment is freely available, and more so when it is openly on sale in retail premises on our High Streets.”
A spokesman for High Life in Montrose, who declined to be named, said the shop sold “nothing illegal” and was still awaiting the return of his stock.
He added: “The police came in for the Sheesha pipes and told us to stop selling an incense product called Clockwork. They said it was illegal but it was tested and it is not illegal. It’s still on sale.
“The shop only sells research chemical powders I wouldn’t say legal highs. I wouldn’t even say it was a smoking shop.”
Police Scotland’s Area Commander for Angus, Chief Inspector Gordon Milne, has vowed to continue to work with the COPFS and a range of other partners in the fight against the sale of legal highs in Angus.
However, he admitted the decision by the Crown to drop the Montrose case was “frustrating and disappointing.”
Chief Inspector Milne said: “On July 16 2013 a drug search warrant was executed by police Scotland at a shop premises in Montrose. Items were seized during the raid and a report was submitted to the Procurator Fiscal’s office in Arbroath.
“The items that were seized are items which Police Scotland view as apparatus connected with the abuse of controlled drugs.
“The sale of NPS is not illegal it may be immoral but it’s not illegal. So, in terms of enforcement there’s not that much we can do about it at the current time.
“It is a vexed question. We are not lawyers but what we would like to do is get a case to the court.
“I’m disappointed that the Fiscal has taken this decision but we are committed to working with the service to minimise risk and harm that NPS is causing to the community.
“If we think a crime has been committed we give it to the Crown and they decide what to do.
“On the one hand, that highlights the independent process that we have in Scotland but, on the other hand it can be frustrating.”
The sale of so-called legal highs in Angus has galvanised the communities of Arbroath and Montrose.
Online campaigns in both towns have seen the pressure mount on sellers to move out the county and one shop in Arbroath has already closed.
Politicians, the police and voluntary services are working in partnership in response to the calls for support from the communities in a bid to educate, inform and limit the damage the “new drugs” are having on users.
Mr Johnstone added: “I would commend Chief Inspector Milne and his officers on the action they have taken.
“People are right to be concerned at the sale of legal highs and drug taking paraphernalia, and I can fully understand why they may feel badly let down by the decision not to prosecute.”