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Move to outlaw two 'party' drugs | Move to outlaw two 'party' drugs |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Two "party" drugs linked to the death of young people will be banned under plans unveiled by the Home Office. | 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 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. | 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. | 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. |
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