An Aberdeen shop selling legal highs has become the first in Scotland to be shut down.
Harminasion, on the city’s George Street, has been shut for three months after Sheriff Malcolm Garden granted an anti-social behaviour order at a civil hearing yesterday.
Police became concerned about the products being sold at the store while investigating complaints about customers.
Youths had been breaking into premises to find a place to take legal high drugs and a man was found lying on the city centre street two weeks ago.
One local business owner, who did not want to be named, said: “We thought he had a heart attack but apparently he had taken some of the stuff sold in the shop.
“He was just lying on the street.”
Harminasion was closed down yesterday morning under the Antisocial Behaviour (Scotland) Act for an initial three months.
Last night Chief Inspector Nick Topping said: “This is the first time anti-social behaviour legislation has been used to tackle the associated problems around shops that sell new psychoactive substances (NPS), or so-called ‘legal highs’.
“Local residents were saying they had people forcing entry to communal areas in flats to then take the legal highs that had been purchased. There were people hanging about the streets which was intimidating.
“People were defecating and urinating in the closes and hallways of flats. There were children staying within these residences and it was a real concern for them.”
Councillor Ross Thomson, said: “There is genuine community concern regarding the availability of legal highs and how they can be sold openly in retail premises. Legal Highs are a growing menace and they are lethal.”