- Details
- Category: News
- Published: 19 February 2014
Picture: DELFI.LV
After one death last Thursday and one almost lethal experiment with Spice among 17-year-old students this weekend in Riga, Latvia, hundreds of people protested in the streets against "legal highs".
Latvia is one of the most affected EU countries, as many as 10% of young people in Latvia, Poland and the UK have used new psychoactive substances, with topping 16% in Ireland, according to 2011 Eurobarometer survey.
Young people who miss their friends and classmates, their parents and simply concerned civilians blocked all Spice-trading points in Riga in a protest action on Monday night. Civilians organised themselves as an NGO "Stop Drugs" a while ago and now cooperate with many athletic clubs in the city.
Protests in Riga are caused by abundant small shops in the city and its outskirts, trading with Asian tees or advertising shoe repair and sewing clothes, but in fact selling mixed psychoactive substances, often called "Spice". Whoever passes these small sheds can observe their trading licences for demonstration in the windows. Still, young people would tell that the shops are trading with some "extra stuff", the majority of those who live or study in the nearabouts are well aware of what is being sold. Yet, the police lacks instruments to close the shops as the owners have a legal trade certificate.
Latvian police works hard to find arguments for shutting down the shops with still valid trade certificates and Latvian Minister for Internal Affairs, Mr. Rihard Kozlovsky is apprehensive about the state of a new black market establishing right on the spot. "It could be even more difficult for the police to cope with the situation when the "salesmen" loose their licence and "go underground"", he said.
EU Commission as late as in September 2013 proposed to strengthen EU`s ability to respond to "legal highs", by taking the poisonous substances away from the market as soon as possible.
ECAD takes Riga`s concerns seriously and encourages other member cities to respond to this situation together by initiating a project under the EU auspices in 2014.