Criticised Canterbury store defends 'legal high' trade 17 October 2013 Last updated at 09:15 The owners of a shop that sells legal highs have defended their firm after a 17-year-old suffered a near fatal reaction to a product they sold. Student Matt Ford, 17, had to be treated in hospital after he smoked an incense called Exodus Damnation from Skunkworks in Canterbury. In a letter to Conservative MP Julian Brazier, a Skunkworks spokesman said it boasted "extremely high moral codes." Mr Brazier wrote to the home secretary calling for the store to be shut down. Trade legally In its letter, UK Skunkworks said: "The paraphernalia that we sell is not for drug use, we sell a wide range of popular products that are received very well by an adult market. The online industry of products we sell is extensive, however up until now the regulation of the products has been impossible. Our stores operate a number of strict policies and are enforced by a large team. These policies ensure that young people under the age of 18 can not enter our stores what so ever. It reiterates that it took disciplinary action after Matt Ford, a student at Canterbury College, managed to buy Exodus Damnation from one of its stores. The letter ends: "Calling for UK Skunkworks to be shut down is a pitiful attempt at dealing with the issues we face. I think you again fail to understand that we trade legally and take our business very seriously. If you wish to meet with us I think you will find us most accommodating and open minded. In his letter to Theresa May, Mr Brazier, who represents Canterbury and Whitstable, called for Skunkworks and "its fellow shops and its websites" to be banned. He said Skunkworks' get-out clause over the substances for sale at its shop was they were "not for human consumption," but its advice was to "help you relax" by burning the herbs in the home. Legal highs mimic the effects of illegal drugs, but are not banned under the Misuse of Drugs Act.