SPICE users in Barnsley town centre could be prosecuted under new plans which are being thrashed out by police, the Crown Prosecution Service and Public Health England.
The fast-acting ‘zombie drug’ a synthetic cannabinoid substance formerly known as a legal high takes effect within five to ten minutes and lasts for three to five hours, leading police resources to be stretched due to the time-consuming nature of dealing with users.
Having been a particular issue in the town centre this year where a multi-million pound redevelopment in taking place talks are ongoing over whether or not users are committing public nuisance offences.
If the new measures are finalised, users could face charges similar to drunk and disorderly cases as there is no current legislation in place to deal with spice abusers.
Officers were drafted in to carry out a number of vehicle stops on Wednesday in a bid to stop cars suspected of bringing spice into the town centre as part of South Yorkshire Police’s monthly Operation Duxford.
Chief Inspector Chris Foster said: “We’ve had really good results with tackling spice and we have been stopping and searching a number of people suspected to be in possession.
“Talks are ongoing about the legislation aspect and the traffic operation was in order to cut off the supply into the town. There’s also been plain clothed officers working in known hotspot areas to really get into the ribs of the issue.
“This all helps to improve the public’s confidence as there’s work being done both at these locations and much more behind the scenes.”
Police - who broke up a fentanyl supply network in the town centre in the summer want the spice operation to follow the same path to continue removing drugs from Barnsley’s streets.
The production, supply or importation of such drugs, which were previously known as legal highs, was made illegal in May 2016 with the introduction of the Psychoactive Substances Act.
Ch Supt Scott Green told the Chronicle that he is confident the new plan which will include a raft of measures to stop both dealers and users will be successful and end the problem.
“Issues with spice are complex it’s not traditional antisocial behaviour as people know it as users aren’t being verbally or physically aggressive as they’re in that zombie-like state,” he said.
“But what they are doing is antisocial and it’s distressing for the public to see, especially so as it’s happening in the town centre which is a high footfall area.
“Spice is cheap and it’s taken quickly, so finding users in possession is rare but the operations will disrupt the network and the talks between the police, CPS and Public Health remain ongoing.”
