A Scotland-wide crackdown on so-called legal highs has significantly reduced the number of users in Aberdeen since last year.
In December 2015, trading standards services worked with councils and police forces across the country as part of Operation Alexander.
The sweeping initiative targeted 53 businesses selling the drugs – which are also known as new psychoactive substances – and 7,323 products were seized with a total value of £146,460.
A number of shops in Aberdeen were forced to close their doors following the operation.
And, as a result of the crackdown and the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, which came into force in May, the number of people in Aberdeen using NPS has fallen dramatically.
City-based charity Alcohol and Drugs Action has reported just 1.5% of its clients now cite NPS are the primary drugs causing them problems, compared to 15% in the first quarter of last year.
Graeme Paton, trading standards manager at Aberdeen City Council, said: “The action we took across the country under the banner of Operation Alexander closed all the retail outlets that were selling NPS across Scotland, which was a very good thing.
“The NHS has reported that in Aberdeen, as well as across the country, they are seeing a drop in drug users saying NPS are their first-choice drug, so the action we took certainly seems to have had a significant effect on the availability and the use of NPS.
“I am extremely happy to see this big drop in NPS use because these substances cause so many problems for so many people.”
