The Psychoactive Substances Act, which came into force on 26 May, has been widely welcomed by councils who say it will assist in cutting down on the number of lives damaged by the substances.
The new law will make the production, distribution, sale and supply of such substances illegal, with offenders facing prison sentences of up to seven years.
The Local Government Association (LGA) has said that ‘legal highs’ have been directly linked to poisonings, kidney damage and the deaths of 144 people in the UK in 2014 alone.
Cllr Simon Blackburn, chair of the LGA’s Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said: "Legal highs are a scourge on society and shatter lives. People using these intoxicating substances are putting their lives, and those of others, at risk by consuming these untested chemicals which can have devastating and unpredictable consequences, including death.
"Councils have made every effort to crack down on these substances and the unscrupulous traders selling them, which has seen so-called ‘head shops' closed down, intoxicating substances seized, on-the-spot fines issued and successful prosecutions.
"We are aware of the risk that the sale of psychoactive substances will now move onto the ‘dark web' – a network of untraceable online activity and hidden websites - and would welcome the Government putting additional resources into tackling the online threat."
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