Jim Shannon MP condemns cannabis sweets circulating in Ards and North Down area
Strangford DUP MP Jim Shannon has expressed deep concern over the presence of cannabis sweets that were seized by the PSNI in Ards and North Down Council area last week.
He said: “The two PSNI Officers are to be congratulated on their athletics as they raced after and caught the individual on an electric scooter.
“That said, drug cannabis sweets by their very nature target a younger section of the population which is very worrying and I want to thank the PSNI for taking that action to get these off the streets of Newtownards.
“Again, I would urge the general public to be vigilant and to report any information or details immediately to the PSNI who will gather the information and pursue those involved.
“Let the PSNI know and let them catch those responsible and get these harmful illegal drugs out of our community.”
Police are concerned at this latest growth area in drug dealing as it creates a hook for young users to get attached to the cannabis, a Class B drug, and later escalate to further cannabis use or to other Class A drugs.
Fundamentally, adding cannabis to sweets is illegal – the cannabis THC content needs to be below 0.02% to be legal. All food substances need to be clearly labelled on the product to be consumed.
The law requires additives to be clearly marked to adhere to the food safety standards.
From the point of consumption, a ‘high’ might take 30 minutes up to 12 hours, as ingestion is a slower way for a person’s body to absorb the mood altering, often odourless drug.
And a danger exists if a child eats the whole packet of sweets in one go, there could be an added impact of the drug and it could affect their overall educational performance and even pose an existential risk by being less traffic and road safety aware.
Health implication for long-term use of cannabis range from mood disorders to serious mental health issues such as schizopheria.
Parents, teachers and youth leaders need to be mindful that children in their care could be targeted.
