Schoolchildren warned over legal highs

As part of a countywide awareness programme, delivered by Young Addaction Lincolnshire, in partnership with Lincolnshire County Council and Lincolnshire Police, the new initiative aims to educate Year 9s and 10s about the dangers of legal highs.

Delivered in 24 schools across the county, 5,200 students have taken part in an interactive session which covers how to keep safe, identify the substances, the effects of legal highs, first aid role plays and a quiz.

Sandy Ford-Pain, trainer at Young Addaction Lincolnshire, said: “We know that young people across the country are taking these substances and that legal highs are not really spoken about at home or at school.

“Therefore, a key element in our crackdown on legal highs in the county was to deliver a programme to 
educate against them.”

Supt Mark Housley, county officer for public protection at Lincolnshire County Council, commented: “This is a national issue and a challenge for any county, town or city – and here in Lincolnshire we are facing up to that.

“We have fully embraced this by working with the emergency services, health organisations, support groups and schools to discourage the usage of legal highs, and tell us where they are being sold.

“Lincolnshire is very much leading the way in tackling legal highs and we are working with Public Health England to share our approach with neighbouring authorities.”