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.

Liverpool’s John Moores University have planned to conduct a study on the effects of mephedrone by allowing 50 students to partake. The study will involve structured interviews on the effects of the drug on the subjects at different time points. Liberal Democrat MP John Pugh, has criticised this study, “[f]ollowing the deaths of two teenagers…and the subsequent announcement of a Government Inquiry into its safety, it seems highly irresponsible for a university to be doing this”.

It has been revealed that the ACMD were due to provide its advice report to the Government last September in relation to mephedrone, but has now been severely delayed due to the sacking of Prof Nutt.  Due now on March 29, the report is expected to recommend a ban on this substance which has recently claimed the lives of two teenagers.  Current chief drug advisor Prof Iversen has hinted that it will be categorised as a Class B (the same class as amphetamine), carrying with it imprisonment of up to five years for possession and up to 14 years for dealing.  We wait in anticipation of the ACMD’s advice due out next week.          

Former Government Chief Drug Advisor speaks out and has called for a new approach to drugs that have very little scientific information.  Prof Nutt suggests the approach taken by New Zealand where a Class D has been created which includes BZP.  This new classification would act as a holding class for drugs such as mephedrone: restricting sales to over-18s; and quality control of product to educate users and provide health messages.

After the recent deaths of two teenagers who had taken the ‘legal high’ mephedrone, Prof Nutt has backed the Government in treating this as a priority.

Will the UK follow suit and will there be a Class D?

Following the footsteps of its neighbour Jersey, Guernsey is looking to outlaw mephedrone ahead of the UK.  Unlike the classification as a Class C drug in Jersey, they are considering the classification of this drug as a Class A.