The Winchester MP has campaigned in Parliament to raise awareness of the dangers of legal highs, and said: "This is a worry and I absolutely share the concerns about this new shop opening up. The location is a concern of course but whether it's hidden or highly visible misses the point that these psychoactive substances are seldom the harmless fun many people believe. They can be lethal and increasingly, often unknown to the retailer, they are not even legal.
"We've done a great deal in recent years to ban new so-called 'legal highs' and the expert panel at the Home Office is now allowing us to develop proposals for a general ban. I have been in touch with Trading Standards to ask them to take an interest and would urge all parents to talk to their kids about the dangers here. I've met parents who've lost children this way and they are utterly broken."