As of today, police in Lincoln are able to arrest those in possession of legal highs. Breaking the order is a criminal offence which could lead to an on-the-spot penalty or a fine from the courts, police said, and the city's two main shops that sell legal highs have closed down. It's the first time this has happened in the UK, with MDMA-like drug MDAI being made illegal in the city, as well as other replica drugs sold with slightly modified compounds as to make them exempt from classification and, therefore, the law.
Marley's, which stocked pipes and tobacco as well as legal highs, shut down of its own accord, while Head Candy closed after being served a community protection notice council. And if you're wondering what a legal high actually is, then it's the stuff in bright packages called things like 'HEADSPLOSION' and recommended as plant food to get around the law stating that they're not suitable for human consumption. Because they make you go totally mental.
'It tackles the on-street problem of legal high usage and the anti-social behaviour that we've seen as a consequence of that,' said inspector Pat Coates when the ban was first announced earlier this year. 'We would like to see better legislation to enable us to deal with the actual sellers.'
It comes after the amount of arrests connected with legal highs went from seven to 820 between 2010 and 2014, and recently police were called when a 16 year old boy collapsed at a bus station. While critics are saying that the ban is unenforcable, the police maintain that a lot of legal high reports come from shop security staff and members of the public, proving that people do know what a legal high is and when someone's tripping balls because of one.
So don't go to Lincoln if you want to snort plant food, guys.
Like this? You might also be interested in...
Ireland Accidentally Legalises Ketamine, Meth And Ecstasy For A Day
Follow Stevie on Twitter: @5tevieM
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.