Legal Highs – The Final Frontier
A new law comes into force this month aiming to ban all substances that have a psychoactive effect. But will it make any difference?
Over the past ten years the government has struggled to keep up with the rapidly evolving “legal highs” market because these substances are synthetic and each time a new one hit the streets and the government banned it a slightly altered version replaced it within days.
Now, the government is about to bring in new legislation that will put a blanket ban on all ‘novel psychoactive substances’ (NPS). This law, the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, will make it illegal to produce or distribute any substance that has a psychoactive effect, but simple possession will not be against the law – unless it is inside a prison. The law will not apply to really dangerous drugs, such as alcohol and nicotine, of course.
Despite objections from drug experts, who said it is impossible to accurately test or measure psychoactivity, and police, who said it will be impossible to enforce, the law comes into effect on 24th of May. Whether this will make any difference to levels of use amongst particularly vulnerable groups such as the homeless, offenders, or those with mental health issues, is debatable.
“I don’t think this will make any difference to the people we work with,” said Alan Matthews, Chair of Trustees at Bosco House and a drug policy expert. “Over the past 60 years successive governments have kept adding to the list of banned substances and, if anything, it has made the situation worse. Spice was made illegal in 2009, but it’s still widely available in one form or another.”
“The reason Spice (a synthetic drug that mimics the effects of cannabis) has become so prevalent is because cannabis itself is illegal. But Spice and other synthetic cannabinoids are much, much more dangerous than cannabis and can cause real problems. You’ve only got to look at what’s going on in the prison system to see the dramatic effect things like Spice and Black Mamba (brand names for synthetic cannabis) are having.”
“What those of us who work in supported housing need is clear guidance about the legal status of these new substances and the implications for the management of tenancies and premises, and a general raising of awareness about what these things are, the effects and risks, and how to help someone experiencing problems.”
If you need any advice on the new law, or information and training on “legal highs” email Alan at alan@alanmatthews.org.uk
