'Legal highs' ban comes into force

Home Secretary Alan Johnson has banned 'legal highs'
12 April 2012

A ban on a range of so-called "legal highs" has come into force.

The ban covers GBL, BZP and man-made chemicals sprayed on herbal smoking products such as "Spice", which are now classed as controlled substances under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

The crackdown comes after the high-profile case of medical student Hester Stewart, 21, who died in Brighton in April after taking GBL.

But her mother Maryon believes the new rules "do not go far enough" because GBL is only classified as a Class C illegal drug.

She said: "In America, it is schedule A, which is the equivalent of a Class A drug here."

However, Home Secretary Alan Johnson said: "We are sending out a clear message to anyone who is thinking about experimenting with them (the drugs), particularly over the festive period, that not only are they putting themselves in danger, they will also be breaking the law."

Fifteen anabolic steroids are also to be controlled as Class C drugs, alongside two growth promoters.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in