Posters marking out ‘crack and heroin zones’ appear across the capital
By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter
Fake council posters have popped up marking out areas where they claim people can legally get high on crack and heroin.
The bogus signs, which are emblazoned with council and Met police logos, inform users they can freely sell and take the illegal Class A drugs in the zones.
Pattern Up, the anonymous teenage art group behind the hoax notices, has placed them in six areas of the capital in the last month: Camden, Hackney, Lambeth, Southwark, Tower Hamlets and Westminster. The posters have also appeared in Cambridge, Brighton and Dublin.
The Brighton-based collective says it hopes the prank will start a conversation about decriminalising drugs and raise awareness of initiatives to prevent drug deaths like injection rooms, places that exist in other countries including Germany, Switzerland and Spain, where addicts can shoot-up in a clean, supervised environment.
The newest posters marking out a “crack and heroin zone” appeared outside Marks and Spencer in Brixton on Wednesday.
Emblazoned with the Lambeth council and Met Police logo, they read: “The sale and use of Crack & Heroin is permitted in this area.”
A Pattern Up member speaking anonymously said the public reaction to the posters had been varied.
He said: “It’s a real mix. Some people have really taken to it in a positive way. It’s normally academic people like psychologists and people who are quite high up. We get people who say it’s not funny too.
“Primarily the posters are to raise awareness with humour around crack and heroin use and how the criminalisation of users is not benefiting anyone and there needs to be a conversation about decriminalisation.”
Pattern Up added: “The crack and heroin notices depict the lack of community effort in preventing the exploitation and destruction of young lives through the supply and use of Class A and B drugs in the city.”
The Met confirmed it was aware of the posters, adding that its local police teams were committed to tackling drug taking and dealing, as well as antisocial behaviour.
Pictured top: Fake crack and heroin zone poster in Southwark (Picture: Pattern Up)
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