As a synthetic drug, Sky News has revealed the source of the UK’s mephedrone supply linking to laboratories in China. Posing as a potential customer, a reporter has been told by a Shanghai-based company that they have five British customers, two of whom are very big. They were also told that the company are well prepared for the mephedrone ban by already developing 5-6 new legal products whom have, as claimed by the company, been told how to make these by their British customers.

So is the ACMD advice to the Government to classify mephedrone as a Class B drug premature and unfounded upon lack of scientific evidence?  Critics have said that the advice subjected was to please ministers or the mood of the day’s press in that the suspected mephedrone-related deaths have not been confirmed.

Some say that a ban will hand the market to criminal gangs pushing the prices up and the purity down.

Roger Howard, UK Drug Policy Commission, has said that “we need to avoid hasty overreacting to very…genuine public and political concerns” and that advice should be based on science and evidence.

Tom Lloyd, International Drug Policy Consortium, claims that this ban would be “ineffective, very costly and counter-productive”. He suggests that ‘grown up education’ is required where one must look at the reasons for people taking the drug rather than a straight ban.

The jury is out.  As the pressure mounts from the public and media, the ACMD provided its report to the Home Secretary last night recommending that mephedrone should be classified as Class B drugs.  Alan Johnson announced they are set to ban mephedrone and other synthetic ‘legal highs’ (as with synthetic cannabinoids) in a matter of weeks whose aim is to prevent manufacturers from producing further similar harmful drugs so they “can be in the forefront of dealing with this whole family of drugs”.

Alan Johnson also announces that he is “seeking cross-party support to swiftly ban these dangerous drugs from [UK] streets”.

The importation of mephedrone and its related products has now been banned with immediate effect. The UK Border Agency have been instructed to seize and destroy shipments of these drugs into the country.  Shops and websites selling the drug in various forms will be warned.

Class B drugs include cannabis and amphetamine sulphate, carrying with it imprisonment of up to five years for possession and up to 14 years for dealing.

Expect the banning process as follows:

1. Home Secretary announces intention to ban
2. Parliamentary business committees formed
3. Proposal laid in Parliament
4. Debate and vote in each House
5. Approval by Privy Council

The heat is on…The resignation of the Advisory Council of Misuse of Drugs’ adviser, Dr Polly Taylor (veterinary medicine expert whose position on within the Council is required by law), has quit just hours before their advice was due on the banning of mephedrone in the UK this morning.  This, which could lead to the delay on the board’s advice to the Government.  A Liberal Democrat spokesman has said that Home Secretary Alan Johnson would have to wait until the Council was “properly constituted” before announcing the ban.  The Home Office has said it would not speculate on any delay on the ban and is expected to announce its decision later in the day.  Is it getting hot in here?

Listen here for the BBC’s Five Live with Tony Livesey on mephedrone and whether this ‘legal high’ should be banned.  The father of one of the Scunthorpe teenage victims of this drug expresses his outrage that the ACMD has not yet released their report to the Government despite recent deaths.  Others speak out their views on mephedrone and whether this should be banned.

Livesey also speaks with Prof Nutt (ex-Chief Drug Advisor to the Government) who states that all drugs are harmful but the question depends on relative harm.  The case to determine whether to illegalise mephedrone requires a cautionary approach taken.  The question of harm should be a public debate.

Apparently, as Chief Advisor before being sacked, Prof Nutt had already recommended to the Government that mephedrone should be classified into the holding class, Class D…advice that was obviously not taken.  Prof Nutt is of the view that if their advice were taken, it would have likely prevented these recent death cases.