How can you enforce a ban of a legal substance? What if you just really really like cream and you are walking through Lambeth with your monthly supply of cream propellant?
Because its being done using an variant of the ASBO so beloved of Nu Labour. The ban is using the new
Public Spaces Protection Orders
(1)A local authority may make a public spaces protection order if satisfied on reasonable grounds that two conditions are met.
(2)The first condition is that—
(a)activities carried on in a public place within the authority’s area have had a detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality, or
(b)it is likely that activities will be carried on in a public place within that area and that they will have such an effect.
By having a month long consultation and arguing there were complaints about the use of laughing gas Lambeth has decided to bring in a PSPO.
One of my disagrementa with it are that the wording of the PSPO is banning any legal highs now and in the future. Its not specifically aimed at laughing gas.
Which is why imo the
Lambeth press office statement is misleading.
It says:
Lambeth council last night approved a crackdown on the use of legal highs such as ‘laughing gas’ in the borough.
Lambeth is now the first London borough to introduce a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) to tackle laughing gas as a specific issue.
The move essentially bans the use and supply of legal highs in public areas across the whole borough and means anybody caught breaching the new order could face a maximum fine of £1000
The title of the piece however is:
Lambeth becomes the first borough to ban laughing gas
The consultation , such as it was, emphasised the complaints about the litter and alleged ASB caused by laughing gas. But the actual ban is about any legal high.
The legislation is about banning activities detrimental effect on quality of life of those who live in the area affected. This being Vauxhall and Clapham. Yet the ban is for whole of Lambeth.
Cllr Edbrooke says in the press release:
Cllr Jane Edbrooke, Lambeth’s cabinet member for Neighbourhoods, said: “Legal highs are simply not safe – we saw that just days ago with the death of a teenager who had inhaled laughing gas.
“It is our duty to keep our residents safe and this new order should deter people from supplying and using legal highs in the borough.
But the legislation is not about keeping people safe, whether that is something that should be done is another issue, its about quality of life. ie kinds of behaviour that may impinge on others in a specified area that reduces the quality of there life. Its not about protecting individuals from there own behaviour that may endanger them.
Another issue I have with the use of these new PSPO is that they obviate the need for a properly democratic debate about drug legislation. The fact that in law its not a criminal offence to do a certain act does not stop a local authority from bringing in a fine for doing it in public. With little in the way of consultation. Its not even needed to be debated at a full Council from what I can see. To edit the Cabinet agreed it but thats just a rubber stamp.
A month long time to fill in a questionnaire that was heavily skewed towards getting support fro a ban is not enough.
In fact I would say the Councils should not use PSPOs.
If there is anti social behaviour it can be dealt with under existing laws.
Cllr Edbrookes assertion that Council has a duty to keep residents safe is not what this legislation is supposed to be about.
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