Steve Double, Member of Parliament for St Austell and Newquay, has welcomed the ban from tomorrow of the sale of what were previously known as ‘legal highs’.
On 26 May the Pyschoactive Substances Bill will come into force. This introduces jail sentences of up to seven years for anyone making or supplying substances intended for human consumption that produce a psychoactive effect. Alcohol, caffeine and tobacco are excluded.
Possession will not be an offence on the outside, but inside jail, where the use of legal highs is an increasing issue, it could add a further two years to a prisoner’s sentence.
Commenting, Steve said:
“Last year I was shocked to see how easy it was to buy legal highs on the high street in St Austell and Newquay. They come with many health warnings and cannot be marketed for human consumption but were readily available to buy. I was pleased at the time, with local paper the St Austell Voice, to raise awareness of the dangers of legal highs which resulted in the withdrawal of their sale in St Austell town centre and this next step - a country-wide ban, is the right and sensible thing to do.”