Black Mamba should NOT have been criminalised, says North Wales crime tsar

Problems caused by junkies using so called zombie drugs in Wrexham have been caused by the narcotic being made illegal, says North Wales’ police commisisoner.

Recently the phenomenon of drug users using former “legal highs” has become prominent, with pictures of users in so-called zombie states in the town causing concern and making the headlines around the country.

But North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones has said that there was no issue with the drug, variously known by its street names of black mamba or spice, when it could be legally bought in head shops.

The shops where drug paraphernalia can be bought also sold the legal highs before they were banned.

Mr Jones is due to tell an audience in Wrexham tonight that the war on drugs has been a failure and that a regulated market for the substances will help to solve many of the social problems that they cause.

Speaking to the Daily Post ahead of an event where he will explain what regulated drugs could mean to families and communities, Mr Jones said: “I don’t think that [the drug] should have been criminalised in the first place.

“I think the fact that it was criminalised is the cause of problem we’ve got now. When it was sold in head shops, we never heard about it because it was weaker, it was safer.

“Now it’s gone underground no one knows the strength of it and it’s causing the agencies a lot of difficulties.”

In the speech tonight he will also say: “I believe that the war on drugs was lost many years ago and that we need a new approach to dealing with problematic drug use.

“I have felt for some time that the current prohibitive stance is extremely damaging to individuals and their communities.”

Mr Jones will be speaking at the Anyone’s Child event at the Racecourse Stadium, Wrexham tonight, Thursday, May 11, from 7pm.

Tickets for the event are available online.

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