Campaigners against so-called “legal highs” in Angus have called for the adoption of a blanket ban on their consumption in public, following similar moves in England.
The City of Lincoln Council plans to bar people using new psychoactive substances (NPS) more commonly known as legal highs in the city centre.
In a report prepared for councillors, Lincoln was said to be “well known across the Midlands for having a ready and cheap supply of these substances”, and the issue was causing “major concern” to police and the local authority.
In Angus, campaigners congratulated the authority on the “common sense” move and have called for a similar position to be adopted in their communities.
For Arbroath and Montrose Against Legal Highs, Derek Wann said the vast majority of Angus citizens would back a ban “at the earliest opportunity.”
He said: “We highlighted the problem of NPS usage well over a year ago now and cannot understand, with the immense public interest here in Angus, that our government and council cannot come up with ideas like this whilst it doesn’t go far enough it would be a start.
“I would like to congratulate the City of Lincoln for taking this step.
“(We) are at the forefront of bringing all this to the attention of the public, but it is time for our officials to start getting a grip on it.”
The sale of NPS is not against the law, with decisions on whether such products can be sold made on a case-by-case basis.
In Lincoln the taking of these legal highs would be banned in a public area of the city, with police able to seize any prohibited substance including alcohol.
Mr Wann added: “Only in the last week or so we have seen the usage of NPS in an Arbroath flat corridor and public places reported in the press this is not going away.”
Calls to back a consumption ban follow the launch of a petition to stop the sale of legal highs in shops across Angus.
Liberal Democrats David May and Sanjay Samani launched a petition calling on the owners of “head” shops to stop selling NPS “with immediate effect”.