A LETTER from the Government has raised hopes among Torridge district councillors that the issue of legal highs is being tackled head on.

The leader of Torridge, Cllr Philip Collins, wrote to the Prime Minister urging him to consider new legislation giving local authorities powers to ban 'legal highs'. Norman Baker MP, minister for crime prevention, wrote back to Cllr Collins, supporting many of the points made in the original letter, and saying he was leading a review into this very area and making it his top priority.

Cllr Collins said: 'It was an encouraging and positive reply from the minister, who shares our concerns, and the government's message is very much the same as ours – that all drug use is harmful and just because they are called "legal" highs, does not make them safe or indeed, legal.

'Mr Baker told me that using the Intoxicating Substances (Supply) Act 1985, there had been a recent successful prosecution. The act says that it is an offence for a person to supply a substance to someone under the age of 18 if they know or have reasonable cause to believe, that the substance is likely to be inhaled by that person for the purpose of causing intoxication. I am hoping that this will be a useful aid to help put a stop to the practice.'

Mr Baker said there was a planned programme to raise awareness of the dangers of legal highs.

Cllr Collins also said: 'A recent working group, set up especially by Torridge District Council members, discussed how to work with other bodies to raise awareness and work on ending these unwanted dangerous substances being available in our towns.

'Action is what I'm after, and I hope the minister really gets stuck in to this problem now.'