‘Heroin & Crack Zone’ posters appear in Bristol

Police and council officials have confirmed that posters proclaiming an area of ​​Bristol is a ‘crack and heroin zone’ are fake – and the council is trying to remove them as soon as they are put up.

The posters, which include the official logos of Avon and Somerset Police and Bristol City Council, have started appearing in inner city areas around the Old Market, Stokes Croft, St Pauls, St Jude’s and the city center over the last week or so .

Bright red posters announce a “Crack and Heroin Zone,” adding: “The sale and use of crack and heroin is permitted in this zone.”

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Over the past five days, the large posters have been pasted on street furniture, electrical junction boxes, bus stops, construction zone billboards and walls. It is unclear who is behind the professional-looking posters or whether the motivation is to shame the authorities into doing more to combat drug trafficking and use in the targeted areas.

The posters have turned heads in Bristol, with several examples posted on social media in recent days. Bristol City Council has confirmed the posters are – obviously – unauthorized and council staff have been monitoring social media to respond to reports of the posters, with rapid responses to discover where they were put up, with a team ready to “take them down as soon as possible”. as much as possible’.

Bristol has been at the forefront of moves to decriminalise, or at least make it safer to use class A drugs in recent years. In 2020, Bristol City Council considered the idea of ​​creating a “safe injection room”, but the plan was rejected by the government on legal grounds.

In 2021, the first drug space – a refurbished ambulance – was set up in Bristol after arriving from Scotland, sparking controversy, while the UK’s first regular drug testing service set up in Bristol 12 years ago years, recently announced plans to launch a test site in the city.

And most recently, one of the pledges in the Green Party’s manifesto heading into the 2024 local council elections – which ended with the Greens two seats short of an overall majority – was to “explore” the idea of ​​safe rooms for drug use.