Perth could follow in the footsteps of Edinburgh by introducing an enforced clampdown on so-called legal high shops, The Courier can reveal.
Moves are afoot by Police Scotland’s Tayside Division to work in tandem with Perth and Kinross Council in a bid to address what appears to be a growing problem across the country with many people now becoming addicted to New Psychoactive Substances (NPS).
In October, Edinburgh City Council’s trading standards officers became the first Scottish local authority to be granted forfeiture orders from the sheriff court that covered many chemical substances and extended to cover any NPS products being sold.
This led to 13 stores being targeted in the Scottish capital which were known to sell “legal highs”.
Eight stores voluntarily handed over their NPS, with a retail value of around £50,000, to trading standards.
Perth has already seen one “legal high” shop temporarily closed in April after a police raid.
Officers seized a significant haul of NPS and related paraphernalia following their investigations at the Bong Shop on Atholl Street.
And Perth Against Legal Highs have staged several protests where they targeted This N’ That in County Place in a bid to get the shop closed down for good.
Yesterday, temporary Chief Inspector Ian Scott, area commander for Perth and Kinross, told The Courier meetings with the council to discuss a concerted clampdown on such shops are in the pipeline.
He said: “It’s fair to say we’ve been looking, along with the local authority, at the way Edinburgh City Council looked at the problem to see if we can take any best practice from that.
“Arrangements are in place for some joint meetings first of all and also to see what we can do locally as well.
“If it came in it would certainly help us in terms of keeping people safe.
“We have looked at various parts of legislation and the Scottish Government is bringing in new laws next year.
“We’ve been doing a lot of work in Perth and Kinross, and indeed within D Division, to restrict the use of legal highs.
“This has involved engaging people who are taking NPS and pointing out the potential physical and mental health issues that are there.
“We’ve looked at various legal options that are open to us meanwhile.”
However, Mr Scott warned the problem also stems from online sales.
A spokesman for Perth and Kinross Council said: “We are working closely with partner organisations to find a solution to the ongoing concerns around these substances and to ensure the public are aware of the serious risks of taking these products.
“New legislation is going through Parliament which if approved will ban the sale of all NPS products. It is expected this legislation will come into force in April 2016.”