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Dundee not cracking down on legal highs hard enough

A councillor has claimed that Dundee has fallen behind other UK cities in the fight against legal highs and is failing to close the shops that supply them.

Councillor Georgia Cruickshank made the comment at a meeting of Dundee City Council’s policy and resources committee. Ms Cruickshank claimed that other Scottish cities, including Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Shetland, have had success in combating legal high sellers; however, Dundee did not appear to be acting.

She said: “I want the council to support a campaign against legal highs that are enticing our young people. I want to get them off the shelves in Dundee. You can’t underestimate the gravity of the pain they cause to individuals and families. Nobody wants this in our communities.”

The divisional commander for Tayside, Chief Superintendent Eddie Smith, stated that his officers were fighting back against legal highs. Claiming to understand people’s concerns, Ch Supt Smith was eager to reassure those at the meeting that the police were working with both Dundee City Council and Trading Standards to rid the city of legal highs. He admitted that legal highs presented a major challenge and said he would continue to lobby the government to give the police greater powers to enable them to fight more effectively.

A shop in Aberdeen that sold legal highs was closed in June after police successfully applied for an antisocial behavior closure order. The order was prompted by a petition for the shop’s closure, which was signed by 800 people.

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