A FATHER whose son's descent into drug abuse culminated in a prison sentence has condemned the launch of a shop selling "legal highs" in Canterbury.
Ian Macmillan, 72, of Sandwich Road, Ash, believes drugs should be legalised – but only so the authorities can regulate their use in the same way as cigarettes and alcohol.
He spoke out against UK Skunkworks in Northgate – which opened last month – and Third Eye in the High Street, which has been selling similar legal drugs paraphernalia for years. But he warned that the controversy could distract away from the prevalence of illegal drug activity in the city.
He said: "The hypocrisy of the proprietors of shops like Skunkworks and Third Eye is breathtaking. "But the furore over supposedly legal substances is surely a red herring, with illegal drugs so readily available in Canterbury and most towns and cities."
Mr Macmillan said his son Hamish was first diagnosed with drug-induced psychosis at 16 as a result of smoking cannabis, which soon developed into schizophrenia.
