Police across Slovakia Seizing Vending Machines with Products Containing HHC

Bratislava, December (TASR) - Police across Slovakia are confiscating vending machines that offer products containing the substance HHC, Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) has announced in a video on a social network. "Popular products in the form of beverages, oils and other products were freely available, even in shopping centres, where children had access to them," noted Sutaj Estok. In the video, he said that this "business" has been stopped since the beginning of November. "We have put an end to the profitable activity of modern-day drug dealers," he said. The minister stated that the fight against drugs will continue, and he called on politicians to stop considering the legalisation of drugs. As of November, the list of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances was expanded to include HHC, HHC-P and HHC-O, which could be purchased in special vending machines in Slovakia. The Health Ministry has previously warned that HHC has been openly sold in Slovakia as a legal substitute for hemp products containing THC, although available information indicates that the effects of HHC are similar to those of THC. As a result, the ministry has called for the substance to be classified as a banned substance. lin/df/ko