UK - UK to ban GBL, BZP & steroids. Spice likely to be banned in several months.

[Alfa]

Jacqui Smith to ban 'legal high' drugs

The home secretary, Jacqui Smith, is to ban two "legal highs" and a range of *anabolic steroids in preparation for the London 2012 Olympics.

The Home Office published proposals today to ban the personal use of GBL, an industrial solvent also used as paint stripper, which has become a drug of choice on the club scene. It follows the death of a Sussex University medical student, Hester Stewart, 21. Her body was found with a container of GBL close by.

The second drug to be banned is BZP, a stimulant that started life as a worming treatment for cattle but is now marketed as a "legal herbal high" that can act as an MDMA or ecstasy substitute. A recent report by the European monitoring centre for drugs and drug addiction identified the health risks of BZP. They included vomiting, headaches and stomach pains lasting for up to 24 hours.

The government's advisory council on the misuse of drugs is expected to recommend action against a third "legal high" known as Spice when it reports to the home secretary by July.

"It is absolutely right that we continue to adapt our drug policy to the changing environment of substance misuse," Smith said.

Smith is also proposing to add 24 *anabolic steroids to the list of banned drugs. At present 54 anabolic steroids and five growth hormones are banned in Britain.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2...s-drugs-policy

[guldenat]

Originally Posted by Alfa

"It is absolutely right that we continue to adapt our drug policy to the changing environment of substance misuse," Smith said.

Well said Jacqui. Thanks to you, no one will ever overdose on GBL again.

[keeyn]

what do you think the chances of mephedrone being banned this year are?

[Alfa]

I'd say 80%, as the ACMD and home office are well aware of mephedrone. The ACMD will likely advice the Home office to ban mephedrone, somewhere in the coming months.

[Junkhead23]

They are just going to ban everything. SO lame

[teagy]

who cares there are some very clever chemists out there me thinks there will be better new legal rcs to come

[Sven99]

Thats the cycle though. Chemists develop new drugs to mimic the banned drugs. If they work the government bans them too, so the illegal market takes over production, usually under the general name of 'ecstacy' and the chemists make new drugs. Meanwhile the legal-high taking populace are guinea pigs for a myriad of untested substances, with new ones coming out every few years, and when something does go wrong, the drugs get blamed, instead of the government imposed cycle.

If they had just left MDMA legal in the first place then there'd be potentially dozens less drugs on the streets today.

[honourableone]

How long does it usually take before proposed bans get put into place?

[Alfa]

Originally Posted by honourableone

How long does it usually take before proposed bans get put into place?

The EU (EMCDDA) has released a publication in February about the speed with which countries ban drugs. The file is probably available in the file archive. If not, then please request the file to be uploaded. This comparison was communicated to all EU countries, with the recommendation to tweak & speed up this process. Some countries ban in days, while others like the UK are relatively slow (months - years). The EMCDDA also recommended to install wide ranging analogue laws and proposed methods to do so.
I expect countries will follow up on the EU's recommendations. No one wants to be the slowest dude in the crowd. Especially when it comes to drugs.

So things are definitely changing.

[Junkhead23]

Two "party" drugs linked to the death of young people will be banned under plans unveiled by the Home Office.



The move will make BZP - also known as herbal ecstasy - and industrial solvent GBL, sold as a "legal high", illegal.
The parents of Hester Stewart, 21, who died after taking GBL in Brighton last month, wrote to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith asking her to change the law.
And a coroner urged BZP to be banned after mortgage broker Daniel Backhouse, 22, died after using the drug.
The proposal would categorise BZP - which Mr Backhouse had mixed with ecstasy powder - as a Class C drug.
'Changing environment'
Ms Smith said: "I am determined that we respond to the dangers of these drugs and that is why I have committed to controlling them.
"It is absolutely right that we continue to adapt our drug policy to the changing environment of substance misuse.
"This is the next step in tackling the unregulated market of so-called 'legal highs'."
BZP - made illegal in the Republic of Ireland earlier this year - would carry a UK prison term of up to two years for possession and 14 years for dealing.
The drug, originally a worming treatment for cattle, can cause serious heart problems, vomiting, anxiety attacks, mood swings and seizures.
GBL is taken as a substitute for party drug GHB, which is already outlawed.
The Home Office's consultation paper on the drugs also includes proposals to ban some anabolic steroids, which have been linked to infertility and liver problems.

Source - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8061693.stm

It makes me wonder how many of these deaths are attributed to a legal drug are actually because of poly drug taking. For instance I bet the girl drank alcohol with the GBL