Rochdale’s MP Paul Waugh is leading a call by MPs to stop shops selling drug paraphernalia and cannabis-branded packaging made to look exactly like children’s sweets.
Paul has written to Policing Minister Sarah Jones MP in a joint letter signed by ten MPs from across the country. They want the Government to amend the Misuse of Drugs Act so Trading Standards can act on this stock directly.
The letter warns that as the Government rightly curtails disposable vapes, some of the same shops are turning to drug equipment instead, sold openly and alongside products aimed at children.
Recent examples seen in Rochdale include a lunch box adapted to hold drug equipment, a gas mask fitted to a bong, and resealable bags made to look like sweet packets but intended for storing drugs. The risk to children, including accidents in the home, is clear.
Whilst the police can act, they usually need a warrant. Trading Standards officers are already on the high street with rights to enter, and could respond at once if the law allowed.
Paul pressed the same case in a Westminster Hall debate on 17 June, secured by Alex Ballinger MP. He shared photographs taken in local shops and asked Ministers to look again at the Misuse of Drugs Act.
Alex Ballinger agreed, calling it completely unacceptable to let businesses market such products to children.
The photographs show glass bongs and pipes on a shop counter next to a stand of lollipops and bars of chocolate. Cannabis-themed smoking kit boxes are stacked directly above bags of well-known sweets.
Others show resealable bags, of the kind used to deal drugs, piled up next to nicotine pouches. Several show cannabis-branded packets copying famous brands, including imitation Skittles, Nerds and Doritos marked with high doses of THC.
It comes after Paul welcomed the Government’s move this month to extend closure orders on dodgy shops from three months to up to a year, driven by Rochdale’s Trading Standards team and Operation Tetbury.
Paul Waugh MP said:
“When a child can walk into a shop and see drugs in a packet designed to look like Skittles, Nerds or Doritos, sitting next to the real thing, something has gone badly wrong.
“This is not clever marketing. It is a deliberate attempt to make dangerous, illegal products look fun and familiar to young people.
“In Rochdale we know all too well the harm these shops can do. They are too often a front for organised crime and the exploitation of children. Now some are dressing up drugs as confectionery and putting it within arm’s reach of the pick and mix.
“There is a simple fix. Trading Standards officers are already on the high street and can enter these premises, while the police often need a warrant. Make clear in law that they can seize drug paraphernalia, and they can step in straight away.
“That is why I and nine colleagues have written to the Minister. I am proud the Government is keeping these shops shut for longer. Now let us give our officers the powers to clear this stuff off the shelves for good.”