Essex MP calls for powers to tackle the sale and possession of laughing gas
Anna Firth is the member of parliament for Southend West
An Essex MP is calling for police to be given greater powers to tackle the sale and possession of nitrous oxide, which is also known as laughing gas.
It comes as the Home Secretary Suella Braverman has committed to cracking down on the recreational legal high- with an announcement expected soon.
Anna Firth is the member of parliament for Southend West.
She said: "Nitrous oxide has been a real problem in Southend- it's often a problem in seaside towns and cities. Young people go down to the beachfront and inhale a whole load of nitrous oxide.
"Then we get litter from the canisters, as well as antisocial behaviour when they're high."
She added: "It was Southend police that first brought this to my attention last summer- we had a day where there were so many hundreds of canisters they (the police) couldn't physically confiscate them all.
"So, they came to me and said, we're going to have to have some government support here to clamp down on this. And they talked to me about having greater powers to confiscate and disperse people who are using.
"But the more we looked into it, the more we found that there needs to be something done around the sale and possession of nitrous oxide. There are some legitimate uses for it, but it's being abused."
But according to Anna Firth MP, progress is being made and the Home Secretary has announced a new consultation at the Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs.
She added: "She (the Home Secretary) has now also confirmed to me that she is going to be making an announcement soon. I think it's probably going to be around the sale and possession of nitrous oxide."