A Step in the Right Direction

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Saturday, February 8th, 2014 | Tags: ,

imageToday, we’ve heard from what can be considered ‘reliable sources’ that the Misty Heaven shop, located next to our Community Spirit building, is set to close. It was in May of last year that we first became aware of the activities of this shop - selling so-called legal highs and various bits of drug paraphernalia. We considered this to be problematic enough for our community; the fact that the shop was side by side with the building from which we run our addiction service, Havilah, seemed to us indefensible… and something that we were not prepared to accept. And so our campaign began. From our silent protest outside the building to yesterday’s debate in the Scottish Parliament (6th Feb. 2014,) we’ve been active in all kinds of ways. Not least, we’ve prayed for a solution to this problem. And so, obviously, we’re delighted with the news today and will wait to see the shutters brought down on ‘Misty heaven’ for the last time… whether that’s in a matter of days or some time in the future. But beyond that, we certainly won’t be glorying in this outcome. Why? Because the problem of substance abuse, including the availability of so-called legal highs, has not gone away. Our town and our nation is a ‘sick man’ in this regard. And these substances are readily available - in a completely un-controlled way - on the internet.

But this is a step in the right direction; of that we are sure. The removal of this shop deals in part with the ready availability of these substances in our town and with the legitimacy leant to them by their being available on what is a busy shopping street. And so we will continue to work in this area, all the while being concerned for the well-being of our community at large and in particular for its young people.


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