Scottish eye radical legal change in effort to close down legal high shops

THE Scottish government is considering a radical change to its law in a bid to close down head shops.

The proposal will shift drug laws away from banning specific substances to a blanket prohibition on the sale of drugs, including some legal substances.

The idea is based on a principle of Scottish law called mens rea: a mental intent to do harm or to cause benefit at the expense of others in a way which is deemed unacceptable.