Hemp sweets 'glamorise' cannabis

The lollies do not contain cannabis

A head teacher has raised concerns about the sale of 'cannabis lollies' at a petrol station across the road from his school in Greater Manchester.

The green 50p sweets, which only contain hemp extract, are on sale near St Cuthbert's High School in Rochdale.

Headmaster John Wood said youngsters "will be attracted by them and may go on to try the real thing".

But Sal Guliwala of Texaco's Dean Service Station insisted the sweets were legal and only sold to over-18s.

Mr Wood said: "We are very unhappy that these things are on sale.

"We do our best to keep our children away from illegal drugs but youngsters will be attracted by them and may go on to try the real thing.

They are making cannabis look glamorous and that is wrong John Wood Headmaster

"Putting them on sale and marketing them is very inappropriate. They are making cannabis look glamorous and that is wrong."

But a spokesman for Texaco said the company did not condone the selling of hemp sweets at any of its sites.

He said: "Dean Service Station is an independently-owned business with a fuel supply agreement with an independent fuel distributor.

"Texaco has no direct business relationship with the site. As a responsible company, Texaco has expressed its strong concern on the matter."