Editorial: Ban is right action

Banning legal highs was the right thing to do.

Two wrongs don't make a right.

The banning of all "legal" highs from today was the right move from Parliament, despite fears from some quarters of stockpiling and of the products being sold on the black market.

Let's call this black market what it really is - an illegal drug trade.

We're right to worry about crime, but we shouldn't use it as an excuse not to pass needed legislation.

Otherwise you're letting criminal activity dictate matters that affect community safety.

If there is an increase in crime because of the legal high ban, why blame the politicians (not to mention the many members of the community who campaigned for the ban)? There may be many factors behind crime - social, legal, financial - but let's not lose sight of the perpetrators.

If they choose the low road of crime, they risk, and deserve, the consequences.

That said, it's in everyone's best interests that legal high addicts seeking help for their addiction are taken care of.

Certain agencies will likely need extra resources because of the effects of the ban - two obvious ones would be the police and addiction support services.

Providing this is part of the price we pay for trying to rid our communities of dangerous psychoactive substances.

It's a price worth paying. Though we could have avoided this situation by not allowing these products on the shelves in the first place.