Legislating For New 'Legal Highs'

Shadow Home Affairs Minister and Hornchurch MP James Brokenshire has called for changes in the law to provide a speedier mechanism for dealing with the problem of legal highs. His call comes as the Home Office awaits the recommendations of the Advisory Council for Misuse of Drugs as to whether the drug Mephedrone should be banned. The drug which is also referred to as ‘meow meow' has been linked to the deaths of at least three people in recent weeks.
James Brokenshire has said that two principal changes should be made to the drugs laws:

1. Introduce a new temporary drug classification which would apply for a maximum period of 12 months.

„X The temporary classification would enable legal controls on sale and supply to be made where significant public health concerns have been highlighted about a new psychoactive substance.

„X This 12 month period would allow time for expert input and analysis to be provided to inform decisions on whether a formal classification should be made or not whilst addressing immediate public safety risks.

„X It would also enable appropriate health alerts to be given in a structured manner as one of the criticisms of FRANK (the Government's drugs advice line and website) was that it was slow to react to Mephedrone because it was not a controlled substance.

2. Amend the drugs laws so that modified drugs of existing controlled substances are captured within the framework of the Mis-use of Drugs Act

„X There has been a growing trend for existing controlled substances to be chemically modified to create a new derivative drug but with the same base chemistry as the existing controlled drug. These so called 'analogues' may fall outside of the existing legal framework and be capable of being sold legally. Conservatives would amend the Mis-use of Drugs Act to address this potential loop-hole.

Commenting James Brokenshire said:

"Many young people have mistakenly thought that because a drug is legal it is safe. As we have seen from the tragic cases in recent weeks, they aren't and we need to get this message across as a priority. It's clear that the current system for dealing with the dangers of new recreational drugs just isn't up to scratch in the internet age.

"We need a speedier mechanism to respond to potentially dangerous substances. There will be many more drugs like Mephedrone which will come into circulation and we need to be better prepared."

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