Drugs parcels intercepted at Royal Mail Plymstock sorting office

Police have warned drug buyers to give up on their plans to purchase illegal narcotics and then use the postal system to get it delivered to their door.

The warning follows yet another large consignment of mail order drugs – mainly cannabis – which was intercepted by the Royal Mail’s Plymstock sorting office staff.

Officers from Charles Cross police station neighbourhood team say they regularly attend the sorting office to collect and dispose of a number of packages which have been deemed suspicious by the eagle-eyed post staff.

Pc Dean Large, Neighbourhood Beat Manager for the East End, said: “Police have a working partnership with the post office and regularly conduct visits.

“On this occasion we were made aware of parcels that had been intercepted by staff who raised suspicions that the contents of them may include illegal drugs.

“We inspected the parcels ourselves and discovered that in the 40 or so parcels, each of them contained varying quantities of illegal drugs.

“In cases where there are lines of enquiry, the police will follow up and where necessary take suitable action to disrupt the supply of illegal drugs and hold those responsible.”

Just last month the neighbourhood team posted up similar pictures of the Royal Mail’s haul to underscore their warning, with Neighbourhood Team Leader Sgt Roger Hocking posting a picture on Twitter and saying: “If you buy your drugs by mail order, it does not take a detective to work out where you live.”

Cannabis – what does the law say?

Cannabis is a class B drug meaning it it is illegal to possess.

Anyone found with the drug could be imprisoned for up to five years while supplying it can be punished with a 14-year jail sentence or an unlimited fine.

The penalty depends on the amount of the drug, the person’s criminal history and other aggravating or mitigating factors.

Police can also issue a warning or an on-the-spot fine of £90 to someone found with cannabis.

Alternatively, officers could issue a cannabis warning which goes on a person’s record but is not revealed by a standard criminal records check.

Cannabis contains different active ingredients and experts say some of them might be therapeutic for certain patients.

THC or tetrahydrocannabinol is the part that makes people feel “high”, but CBD or cannabidiol is another component found in cannabis that scientists are interested in understanding more about as medical treatments.

CBD-based treatments have shown some promising results for reducing seizures in children with severe epilepsies.

Medical trials of cannabis-based medicines have largely focused on pharmacological preparations, but some parents of children with epilepsy have been buying oils containing CBD and THC.

There is currently little scientific evidence on the safety and effectiveness of these oils as a treatment for epilepsy, although they do contain the same active ingredients.

Some health food shops sell CBD oils as food supplements. These have low levels of active ingredient and are legal to buy in the UK.

It is vital that you talk to your doctor or health professional before making any changes to your epilepsy medication.