Legal highs ban 'will address drug addiction'

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by Change | 25 Aug 2009

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Three types of legal substances alleged to be used in drug abuse are to be banned in the UK.

The government has announced the herbal substance known as Spice, the ecstasy substitute BZP and paint-stripping chemical GBL are all to become illegal by the end of this year.

These legal highs are currently widely available for sale across the UK and on the internet but ministers warn they are an emerging threat.

Announcing the decision, the home secretary Alan Johnson said he was acting on advice from the government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.

"There is a perception that many of the so-called legal highs are harmless, however in some cases people can be ingesting dangerous industrial fluids or smoking chemicals that can be even more harmful than cannabis."

Hester Stewart, a 21-year-old medical student from Brighton COMMA died earlier this year after taking GBL and her mother, Maryon, has since campaigned for a change in the law.

Ms Stewart told BBC News she was "delighted" with the news, adding: "I think the Home Office is moving in the right direction."

In addition to the change in legislation, the Home Office is planning to launch an awareness campaign to coincide with the start of universities freshers' weeks in September.

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