Having lobbied intensively for a blanket ban on legal highs to make the streets of Taunton Deane and Wellington safer for everyone Prospective Conservative MP for Taunton Deane has welcomed the news that as of Friday April 10th a ban on five substances will come into force for up to 12 months.
It is no coincidence that the announcement was made following an exclusive meeting with Home Secretary Theresa May arranged by Rebecca Pow and held at the County Gazette. At the meeting Ms May was called upon to introduce some kind of ban on the lethal legal highs which have been a blight on life in Taunton and Wellington.
‘This is really the best news we could have hoped for’ says Rebecca Pow,’ I have pursued a dedicated campaign lobbying the Home Secretary, Theresa May in order to bring to her attention the dire impact of so called legal highs in both Taunton and Wellington. This has been in conjunction with a joint approach involving the police, Taunton Deane Borough Council, the South West Action Group and Taunton Association from the Homeless. I was so pleased to be able to bring the Home Secretary here just two weeks ago for an exclusive meeting on legal highs held at the County Gazette offices. Mrs May was visibly shocked when we highlighted recent frightening incidents locally involving children finding discarded needles and people ordering legal highs as a kind of take away service.
The Home Secretary really seems to have listened and moved quickly in introducing this ban following the recommendations of the independent Advisory Council on Misuse of Drugs. Concerns about legal highs are constantly raised with me when I am out meeting people and I am delighted and relieved to hear this annoucement which should have a significant impact on making our streets safer.’
The government is making a Temporary Class Drug Order (TCDO) on five compounds related to methylphenidate, a Class B drug, due to concerns about their misuse as new psychoactive substances Ethylphenidate, one of the drugs being banned, has emerged as an alternative to cocaine and is sold using the street names ‘Gogaine’ and ‘Burst’. Users have been known to inject the drug, putting themselves at risk of blood-borne disease and infection.
To prevent users from switching to related drugs with similar harms, the ACMD recommended that the following four drugs are also banned: 3,4-Dichloromethylphenidate (‘3,4-DCMP’), Methylnaphthidate, Isopropylphenidate and Propylphenidate.
Once the order is in force, anyone caught making, supplying or importing the drugs will face up to 14 years in prison and an unlimited fine under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
Police and border officials will be allowed to search or detain anyone they suspect of having the drugs and seize, keep or dispose of a substance they think is a temporary class drug.