Agenda item

This Council notes that

·           New psychoactive substances, often referred to as ‘legal highs’, contain a range of ingredients, which may or may not themselves be illegal.

·           According to drugs advisory service FRANK, the three main categories of these substances are stimulants, downers or sedatives, and psychedelics or hallucinogenics.

·           The 2013-14 Crime Survey of England and Wales estimated that use of psychoactive substances is particularly common amongst 16 to 24 year olds, including finding that 7.6% of young people in that age group reported using Nitrous Oxide at some point in the last year.

·           Little meaningful research into the short or long-term risks to the health implications of the consumption of many of these drugs has been conducted. The effects are different on different people and at worst they are known to cause paranoia, seizures, comas and can also lead to death.

·           The Office for National Statistics have stated that the number of deaths involving new psychoactive substances rose to 60 in 2013.

This Council further notes that

·           A Psychoactive Substances Bill to introduce a ban on so-called legal highs was announced in the Queen’s Speech which would make it an offence to produce, supply, offer to supply, possess with intent to supply, import or export any psychoactive substance which isn’t exempted under the draft legislation.

·           The Republic of Ireland made it an offence to advertise, sell, supply, import or export psychoactive substances in 2010.

·           From 1^st April 2015 City of Lincoln Council introduced the first local ban on people taking legal highs in public and that Blackpool Council recently issued Community Protection Notices to all shops prohibiting the sale of psychoactive substances.

·           The Local Government Association (LGA) has been calling for legislation on psychoactive substances since Councils were handed responsibility for public health in 2013. Councils in England and Wales spend about 30%, £830 million a year, of the entire public health budget on drug and alcohol misuse.

This Council believes that

·           Local Authorities and the Police are best placed to work in partnership to reduce the use of psychoactive substances across the country.

This Council resolves that

·           The Chief Executive write to the Home Secretary to welcome the proposed legislation and ask that Stockport MBC and the LGA are consulted on how best to implement a complete ban on the sale of all legal highs including an end to local shops selling them over the counter.

Moved by:                  Councillor Chris Murphy

Seconded by:           Councillor Linda Holt

MOVED AND SECONDED - This Council notes that

·           New psychoactive substances, often referred to as ‘legal highs’, contain a range of ingredients, which may or may not themselves be illegal.

·           According to drugs advisory service FRANK, the three main categories of these substances are stimulants, downers or sedatives, and psychedelics or hallucinogenics.

·           The 2013-14 Crime Survey of England and Wales estimated that use of psychoactive substances is particularly common amongst 16 to 24 year olds, including finding that 7.6% of young people in that age group reported using Nitrous Oxide at some point in the last year.

·           Little meaningful research into the short or long-term risks to the health implications of the consumption of many of these drugs has been conducted. The effects are different on different people and at worst they are known to cause paranoia, seizures, comas and can also lead to death.

·           The Office for National Statistics have stated that the number of deaths involving new psychoactive substances rose to 60 in 2013.

This Council further notes that

·           A Psychoactive Substances Bill to introduce a ban on so-called legal highs was announced in the Queen’s Speech which would make it an offence to produce, supply, offer to supply, possess with intent to supply, import or export any psychoactive substance which isn’t exempted under the draft legislation.

·           The Republic of Ireland made it an offence to advertise, sell, supply, import or export psychoactive substances in 2010.

·           From 1^st April 2015 City of Lincoln Council introduced the first local ban on people taking legal highs in public and that Blackpool Council recently issued Community Protection Notices to all shops prohibiting the sale of psychoactive substances.

·           The Local Government Association (LGA) has been calling for legislation on psychoactive substances since Councils were handed responsibility for public health in 2013. Councils in England and Wales spend about 30%, £830 million a year, of the entire public health budget on drug and alcohol misuse.

This Council believes that

·           Local Authorities and the Police are best placed to work in partnership to reduce the use of psychoactive substances across the country.

This Council resolves that

·           The Chief Executive write to the Home Secretary to welcome the proposed legislation and ask that Stockport MBC and the LGA are consulted on how best to implement a complete ban on the sale of all legal highs including an end to local shops selling them over the counter.

AMENDMENT MOVED AND SECONDED - This Council notes that

·         New psychoactive substances, often referred to as ‘legal highs’, contain a range of ingredients, which may or may not themselves be illegal

·         According to drugs advisory service FRANK, the three main categories of these substances are stimulants, downers or sedatives, and psychedelics or hallucinogenics 

·         The 2013-14 Crime Survey of England and Wales estimated that use of psychoactive substances is particularly common amongst 16 to 24 year olds, including finding that 7.6% of young people in that age group reported using Nitrous Oxide at some point in the last year

·         Little meaningful research into the short or long-term risks to the health implications of the consumption of many of these drugs has been conducted. The effects are different on different people and at worst they are known to cause paranoia, seizures, comas and can also lead to death

·         The Office for National Statistics have stated that the number of deaths involving new psychoactive substances rose to 60 in 2013.

However, this Council Meeting also notes that, according to the Office for National Statistics, in 2013:

·         Of the 60 deaths involving psychoactive substances there were only 5 cases where psychoactive substances were the only substances implicated in each death;

·         The total number of drug related deaths was 562;

·         The number of alcohol-related deaths was 8,416; and

·         The number of smoking-related deaths among the over 35s was estimated to be 79,700.

This Council further notes that

·         A Psychoactive Substances Bill to introduce a ban on so-called legal highs was announced in the Queen’s Speech which would make it an offence to produce, supply, offer to supply, possess with intent to supply, import or export any psychoactive substance which isn’t exempted under the draft legislation

·         The drafting of this bill has been widely criticised and, at the time of publication of this council motion, it has only just begun its journey through parliament.  There is no settled version of the bill and we cannot thus have any certainty what the final proposals will be.  Consequently any unequivocal support for this bill is both premature and a hostage to fortune.

·         Both Liberal Democrat and Labour peers have spoken in recent House of Lords committee debates in favour of  an independent, evidence-based review of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, highlighting that this law is flawed and has failed to protect society from the harm caused by drugs.

·         The Home Secretary has recently been sent an open letter from the presidents of the Academy of Medical Sciences, the British Pharmacological Society, the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and the Society of Biology alongside the biological secretary of the Royal Society and the head of policy at the Wellcome Trust which highlights the risk to neuroscience research into consciousness, memory, addiction and mental health and calls for the Bill to be amended to provide safeguards for such research.

·         The Republic of Ireland made it an offence to advertise, sell, supply, import or export psychoactive substances in 2010

·         From 1^st April 2015 City of Lincoln Council introduced the first local ban on people taking legal highs in public and that Blackpool Council recently issued Community Protection Notices to all shops prohibiting the sale of psychoactive substances;

·         A variety of work is being undertaken by this council and our partners, including

o   the formation of the Lethal Highs Working Group, ensuring close collaboration between Trading Standards, GM Police, GM Fire and Rescue Service, MOSAIC, the Youth Offending Team, Community Safety, Stockport Homes, Public Health and others;

o   enforcement activity, including visits to known sellers to encourage them to cease selling these products and the seizure of non-compliant products;

o   extensive community engagement and education work, including sessions in secondary schools, the launch of a Responsible Retailer scheme, and regular press releases and social media messages;

·         The Local Government Association (LGA) has been calling for legislation on psychoactive substances since Councils were handed responsibility for public health in 2013. Councils in England and Wales spend about 30%, £830 million a year, of the entire public health budget on drug and alcohol misuse

This Council believes that

·         Local Authorities and the Police are best placed to work in partnership to reduce the use of psychoactive substances across the country

This Council resolves

·         To recognise the good work undertaken by our officers and  partners to minimise the impact of so called legal highs within the bounds of current legislation;

·         To monitor with interest the passage of the Psychoactive Substances Bill; and

·         To ask the Chief Executive to write to the Home Secretary, asking her to

o    listen to the calls for a health-based and harm  reduction-based approach to dealing with the problems caused by the misuse of drugs; and

o   to commission the independent, evidence-based review into the

current legislation called for by Liberal Democrat and Labour Peers.