UK: Drugs ban 'safety-valve' removed

After my blog on Wednesday on tensions between drugs advisors and the Home Office, more details have emerged of how the expert panel on legal highs was split down the middle on whether to go for a total ban.

While ministers claim their Psychoactive Substances Bill reflects the findings of the experts, I am told that the hand-picked committee was divided on whether low-harm substances like amyl nitrate (poppers) and nitrous oxide (laughing gas) should be included.

The final report was drafted by Home Office officials but some members of the panel, which included three people who also sit on the ACMD, insisted on writing in what became known as the "safety-valve" clause.

The recommendation for "general prohibition" was amended to say that there should be exemptions for substances "where the risks of health and social harms can be adequately assessed". The line was included specifically to ensure that some...

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URL: 
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-33099509