Poppers could be banned under ‘legal highs’ crackdown
Poppers could be banned under new Government proposals to crack down on ‘legal highs’.
Due to drugs being classified as illegal by their chemical compounds due to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, tweaks of compounds can mean drugs avoid the law.
However, a draft law would implement a blanket ban on the sale of legal highs and those found guilty of selling them could face up to seven years in jail.
As well as substances such as nitrous oxide, known as laughing gas, or “hippy crack” being banned under the proposed laws, amyl nitrite, or poppers as they are commonly known and which are often sold as room odourisers, could also be made illegal.
Under the proposals from the Home Office, police could be given new powers to shut down websites selling legal highs, and
Minister of State for Policing, Crime, Criminal Justice and Victims, Mike Penning, said: “Young people who take these substances are taking exceptional risks with their health and those who profit from their sale have a complete disregard for the potential consequences. That’s why we are targeting the suppliers.
“The landmark bill will fundamentally change the way we tackle new psychoactive substances – and put an end to the game of cat and mouse in which new drugs appear on the market more quickly than government can identify and ban them.
“The blanket ban will give police and other law enforcement agencies greater powers to tackle the reckless trade in psychoactive substances, instead of having to take a substance-by-substance approach.”
