Diane Abbott urges contingency plan on 'bath salts'
22 Jun 2012
The Home Office has revealed that MDPV, the chemical in zombie drug ‘bath salts’ has been found in two British post-mortems, following questioning by Diane Abbott MP, Labour’s shadow public health minister.‘Bath salts’, the dangerous drug with the innocent-sounding street name, has been linked to a series of violent attacks in the US.
It is thought that Rudy Eugene may have been on bath salts when he ate the face of Ronald Poppo, in an attack in Miami. The attack only ended when police shot and killed Eugene. Poppo is still in hospital.
Diane Abbott MP has urged the government to start collecting data and intelligence on the drug, and to put in place a contingency plan for the possibility of the drug emerging onto British streets, like it has in the US, in places like Miami.
Diane Abbott said:
‘The government has now admitted that there have been two cases in Britain where MDPV was found in post-mortem toxicology. The government has said it has no plans to review MDPV and is not even collecting any data or intelligence on the drug. But I think we need to remain vigilant on this issue and put the safety of the British public first. We need a contingency plan for the possibility of this appalling drug finding its way into Britain. We need to keep it off British streets.’
The details of the British post-mortems emerged after the shadow public health minister pressed the Home Office over the issue, urging the government to consider raising awareness of the drug and consider increased penalties for the importation, trade and possession of the substance.
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