Lambeth seeks extra powers to seize laughing gas, bypassing proposed new law

 
Mess: Street scenes in Vauxhall after legal high use the previous evening (Picture: Lambeth Council)
LB Lambeth
Ramzy Alwakeel9 July 2015

A south London borough is vying for new powers to ban "hippy crack" from its streets, claiming the government's proposed law against distributing so-called legal highs does not go far enough.

If Lambeth Council gets its way, anyone found in possession of laughing gas canisters or a number of other intoxicating substances could end up hauled before the courts.

The Public Space Protection Order bid comes as the council admits it has seen a "significant increase" in both antisocial behaviour and litter linked to legal highs in the last 12 months.

Whitehall gave councils the power to make PSPOs as a means to tackle antisocial behaviour in 2014. Hackney Council came under fire earlier this year for proposing an order that could have seen rough sleepers fined - a plan it has since withdrawn.

Lambeth's top councillor for neighbourhoods, Cllr Jane Edbrooke, said the planned law would leave a "big gap" in policing the use of substances such as laughing gas.

"Legal highs are linked to anti-social behaviour, drug dealing and particularly littering around south London nightlife hotspots such as Vauxhall and Clapham," she said.

"The government's new laws will tackle production, importation and supply of legal highs, but there's a big gap around actually tackling people who use these drugs and leave canisters lying all over our streets.

"The mess left in some of our neighbourhoods after a Friday and Saturday night just isn’t acceptable, with families having to witness this behaviour on a regular basis, as well as coming across these canisters in their playgrounds, parks and streets.

"So we are proposing to use a Public Spaces Protection Order to protect local people's quality of life and get on top of this problem."

Nitrous oxide, known as "hippy crack", is used for inflating balloons and preserving whipped cream. It is one of a wide range of chemicals whose unlicensed production and sale would be banned by the government's new law.

Taking its wording from the Psychoactive Substances Bill, which is currently working its way through Parliament, the PSPO targets "substances with the capacity to stimulate or depress the central nervous system" - but comes with a hefty exceptions list, including alcohol, food, medicine and tobacco.

As well as a £100 on-the-spot fine, anyone breaching the borough-wide PSPO could face a £1,000 bill if they are brought before magistrates.

Insp Neil Cochlin from the Met's Lambeth police team, said: "Last summer saw a rise in legal high-related problems, particularly in the borough's green spaces, and we are committed to prevent a repeat this summer.

"Consuming or possessing legal highs could result in an on-the-spot fine and a requirement to hand them over. Failure to surrender any legal highs will be a criminal offence and could lead to the person being arrested."

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