Legal high Methoxetamine, also known as “mexxy” which is being sold as a safe alternative to ketamine has been referred to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) in a bid to impose a temporary banning order.

Speaking on behalf of the Government, Minister for Crime Prevention and Antisocial Behaviour Reduction Lord Henley reiterated “It is important for those considering using these drugs to understand that just because a substance is legal, it does not mean it is safe and should not be seen as a safer alternative to illegal substances.”

The Government’s drugs advisers have been given 20 working days in order to recommend whether it should be outlawed for 12 months under a Temporary Class Drug Order.  This would mean the substance would illegal for a year while further investigations are carried out.  During this period the advisor’s would decide whether it should be placed under permanent control under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

This week the Home Office and the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) agreed and published their new working protocol. Increased emphasis has been placed on the advisory process to use the temporary control power, in particular “legal highs”. An announcement has been made to temporarily control Diphenylprolinol (D2PM) and diphenylmethyl-pyrrolidine. The substances are closely linked to chemicals found in the “legal high” Ivory Wave.

The ban is for a period of up to one year. During that time the ACMD will access the harm the substances pose so they can advise the government.

Based on guidance from the Advisory Council on Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), the Home Office has released a new report into the effect of Novel Psychoactive Substances, more commonly known as “legal highs”.

There is major concern that legal highs can mimic the effects of illegal drugs such as ecstasy or cocaine but that people associate them as being safe as they are not illegal. The report outlines the dangers involved with taking these substances.

Following advice this week from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), the legal high “Ivory Wave” is to become a Class B banned substance.

The drug, also know as Ivory Snow or Vanilla Sky is sold in powder form and acts in a similar way to an amphetamine such as Ritalin. Known side effects include paranoia and hallucinations.

Baroness Browning, Minister for Crime Prevention and Antisocial Behaviour Reduction, said ”The ACMD’s advice on ‘Ivory Wave’ reinforces what we already know - that substances touted as ‘legal highs’ contain dangerous and potentially illegal substances.”   She further added “Young people in particular may often equate legal with “safe” and are quite simply playing a high risk game of lottery by taking substances without knowing what they contain or their potentially harmful effects.”

An order making the substance illegal will be put before Parliament this autumn.

The Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) is the UK’s official drugs advisory group and made up of independent experts who advise the government on drugs policy. They have made a recommendation to the Home Office that the legal high desoxypipradrol (2-DPMP), also known as  ’Ivory Wave’, should join Methadrone and become a Class B drug.

Professor Les Iversen, chair of the ACMD, said: “The health effects of desoxypipradrol (2-DPMP) and its related compounds correspond with those related to other Class B drugs and have the potential to cause harm. That is why we are recommending that the government takes action to control the substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act”.