Legal high blanket ban transform Perth claim campaigners

Anti-drug campaigners in Perth have claimed that the recently enforced blanket ban on legal highs has resulted in their city being transformed.

New legislation banning the manufacture, sale and distribution of the dangerous new psychoactive substances (NPS), also known as legal highs, came into force in May. The synthetic drugs are designed to replicate the effect of other drugs, such as cocaine and cannabis.

Katie Della Bennett, one of Perth’s anti-drug campaigners and a primary mover behind legal high protests that targeted certain stores which sold the drugs, is of the opinion that the new law has transformed the lives of users in the city. She said, “The legislation has made a big difference in Perth. If you walk around Perth now you can just see the difference it has made. It’s so good to see. I have got contacts within Murray Royal Hospital and they have said that in the past month they have seen a large reduction in the number of people brought in by the police.”

One of the most popular legal highs has been the substance known as Spice. This synthetic drug is a cannabinoid, which means that it produces the same kind of effects as cannabis, but Spice is able to produce effects that can be as much as 100 times more powerful. Spice has been linked to various health issues, including kidney failure, seizures, heart failure and psychosis, and is believed to be a causal factor in some fatalities.