Legal Highs - Legislation Issues and Analysis - Essay Example

?Legal Highs Summary: Legal highs are “substances which produce the same, or similar effects, to drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy, but are not controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act” [Talk to Frank]. However, this is a misnomer because the word legal does not mean that it is sanctioned by the government and therefore safe to use. It is in fact an unknown substance with still an unknown range of effects which could be as mild as nausea or to the most severe which is death. At present, the government is moving towards banning these substances which are easily available through the internet under the guise of plant food or household cleaning products. However, unless the Parliament is witty enough in wording the law, the government may be facing a losing fight because by the time the law is passed banning the substances presently available in the market, the traders will have already produced another variation of illegal drugs which cunningly circumvents the new law. Table of Contents: Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Anatomy of “Legal Highs” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Legal does not mean safe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 The Business of Legal Highs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Government Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Introduction Despite the media campaign on the risks of substance abuse and misuse, it remains the top problem of all governments around the world regardless of race, color or creed. Democratic and authoritarian regimes alike combat the issue of drug abuse and misuse among its population. In the UK, there is an emerging new class of misused drugs commonly referred to as “legal highs”. This paper shall look into the legal highs phenomenon. It shall examine the anatomy of these substances and there effects on the persons who ingest them. It shall explore how these synthetic substances have had acquired the “legal” label and whether it means that they are safe and sanctioned by the government. Moreover, this paper shall look into how the government has responded to this problem in terms of legislation, law enforcement and monitoring and whether these efforts have been effective in controlling the open and free trade of legal highs. Finally, this paper aims to inform the public about the risks involved in using legal highs and contribute to the fight against substance abuse in the UK. Anatomy of “Legal Highs” The internet is awash with websites selling legal highs. There are also forums that are devoted to discussions on legal highs with topics ranging from warnings and complaints on its ill-effects to directions on where to find the cheapest or most potent products. Anyone with internet access including inquisitive minors may browse through their pages and read anecdotal literature on this new party fad. This has been the norm until the media was all hyped up when a teenager was reported to have died from its use, particularly, mephedrone. When the public caught on, legal highs moved from the realm of the internet into the mass media which has a much wider reach. Now, more people are curious about it and ask, “What are legal highs?” The Advisory Council on Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) refers to them as psychoactive substances [Iversen 2011]. According a website funded by the British government in line with its anti-drug abuse campaign, legal highs are “substances which produce the same, or similar effects, to drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy, but are not controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act” [Talk to Frank]. They do not fall within the ambit of the law because they are “synthetic mind altering drugs…that are based on controlled drugs but their molecular structures have been changed (or “tweaked”) so as to produce different compounds [Jason-Lloyd 2010]. Legal does not mean safe Dr. Phil Yates of the Forensic Science Service has warned that the label “legal high” creates the wrong impression that these substances are safe. The use of the word “legal” creates the wrong notion that it is not prohibited by the government hence, it is safe to use. Dr. Yates stressed in no uncertain terms that this belief is wrong: “…really, all it means, is that that drug – nobody’s tested it, nobody knows whether it’s safe. These are completely unknown quantities… You really don’t know what you're getting.” [Yates 2010] The issue of legal highs is a serious matter which should be everyone’s concern. The effects of legal highs include “reduced inhibitions, drowsiness, excited or paranoid states, coma, seizures, and death” [Talk to Frank]. Apparently, the word legal should not be equated with the words safe and sanctioned insofar as these psychoactive substances are concerned. The Business of Legal Highs Intrinsically, these are illegal substances. The law prohibits their production, sale, purchase, and advertisement for human consumption. However, under the current legal set-up, the suppliers can easily circumvent the law by simply declaring that they are being produced and traded for agricultural, industrial or even household use [Talk to Frank]. Traders just need to place a warning in the label that the substance is “not fit for human consumption” and they are automatically off the hook. However, at the point of sale, there is no discretion as to who buys these substances and for what purpose. There unscrupulous traders are only concerned with their profits. One supplier who was interviewed by The Guardian nonchalantly declared: “I sell strictly for horticultural use…orders are for just a few grams, so this is obviously intended for the customer's own garden." [Saner 2009] The Forensic Science Service has noted that in the recent years, the number of varieties of these legal highs that are being sent to their laboratories for examination has increased significantly [Yates 2010]. In essence this means that suppliers never tire of making new forms of psychoactive substances and different appearances and presentations for existing drugs. This has the effect of expanding its market base. A check at websites that sell legal highs would show an array of products, from pills and inhalers to candies and lollipops. There’s a product for all types of partygoers. Worse, these websites are readily accessible through search engines like Google and Yahoo, practically anyone can browse through their wares. And the worse part is that anyone with a credit card can buy these legal highs and have them delivered to their doorstep the following day. Government Action The government has stepped up its fight against the proliferation of harmful drugs which pose a threat to the health and well-being of the people. Aside from the police force, the government has created several specialised agencies whose main task is to address the issue of drugs misuse which includes legal highs. The leading team of experts in this area is the Advisory Council on Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) chaired by Professor Les Iversen. In 2010, the ACMD has created several working groups that focus on addressing the problem of proliferation of legal highs which is gaining popularity especially among the young population. First, there is the New Psychoactive Substances Working Group which devotes all of their time and efforts in monitoring the trade and use of legal highs apart and separate from the other abused substances like heroine, cocaine and cannabis. Second, the Polysubstance Use Working Group is focused on the particular group of people that uses not only legal highs but also a combination of two or more abused substances like psychoactive drugs plus nicotine, alcohol or cannabis. The use of legal highs is risky enough but when it is used in combination with other substances the stakes are raised even higher. Third, the Treatment Working Group shall look into effective treatment strategies as well as the reintegration of rehabilitated misusers into the community. All these working groups are under the auspices of the ACMD. [Omand 2010] The ACMD recommends that the matter of legal highs be made a top priority of the government which should create a multi-agency task force to address the problem from all angles. It also moves for a Temporary Class Drug Order (TCDO) under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill and proposes for the development of a new and stronger evidence system on legal highs [Iversen 2011]. The ACMD has also proposed for Temporary banning Power for a period of 12 months which will enable it to build a database and evidence base for its final recommendation as to how the government should deal with these new psychoactive substances. The ACMD will have enough time to study these substances and properly classify them in order to protect the public as well as to thwart its misuse which is now gaining popularity. [Omand 2010] In terms of specific legislation that addresses the issue of legal highs in particular, at present there is none. Apparently, the legal highs phenomenon is relatively new insofar as the parliament is concerned. No less than the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State has admitted that, “It is clear that some of these substances are so novel that there is little research into the short, medium and long-term risks that they pose.” Perhaps when studies conducted on this subject have presented their results, we shall see bills being debated upon at the Parliament. Until then, the country awaits for concrete parliamentary action on the matter of legal highs. Conclusion As of April 2010, Mephedrone has been classified under the controlled substances under the Drug Misuse Act of 1971. This was after the much publicised death of 14-year-old Gabrielle Price in November 2009 which was blamed to the misuse of the then legal high substance mephedrone. Interestingly, the news about her death created the opposite effect insofar as the legal highs trade is concerned. Instead of scaring people away from these substances, they are, on the contrary, scrambling to get their share of “high” to the point of almost hoarding because suppliers have run out of available stocks [Saner 2009]. However, despite the known risks and dangers of its use and abuse, law enforcement agencies find it difficult to apprehend the players in the legal highs trade because they are technically not Class A or B drugs as classified under the Misuse of Drugs Act. As aforementioned, these psychoactive drugs have an entirely different chemical composition and structure from the known and identified illegal drugs but they produce the same or similar effects as Class A or B drugs [Talk to Frank]. Indeed, the insight of one supplier practically sums up the legal high phenomenon in UK. He says that the drugs trade is a very dynamic and updated industry. Whenever a specific substance is banned by the government, they always have a ready substitute up their sleeves: As for the suppliers, the feeling appears to be that a ban is inevitable. "I think mephedrone will be made illegal within a year, but there will be other products that will replace it," says Michael. Recipes change – new drugs are made by tweaking a molecule here or there – sidestep the law. "The law will always be one product behind the market." References: Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drug. July 2010. Consideration of the Naphthylpyrovalerone analogues and related compounds. Accessed on July 19, 2011. Available at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/alcohol-drugs/drugs/acmd1/naphyrone-report?view=Binary Directgov. Drugs and Crime. Accessed on July 19, 2011. Available at http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/YoungPeople/CrimeAndJustice/TypesOfCrime/DG_10027693 European Centre for Monitoring for Drugs and Drug Addiction. Drug Profiles. Accessed on July 19, 2011. Available at http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/drug-profiles Home Office. March 31, 2011. Impact Assessment for the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill. Accessed on July 19, 2011. Available at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/about-us/legislation/police-reform-bill/ia-prsr-bill?view=Binary Iversen, L. March 17 2011. Letter to Home Secretary Theresa May, MP. Accessed on July 19, 2011. Available at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/agencies-public-bodies/acmd1/ACMDlettertohomesecgovpriorities?view=Binary Jason-Lloyd, L. 02 October 2010. Controls on Legal Highs. Criminal Law and Justice Weekly. Accessed on July 19, 2011. Available at http://www.criminallawandjustice.co.uk/index.php?/Analysis/controls-on-legal-highs.html Legal Highs. Talk to Frank. Accessed on July 19, 2011. Available at http://www.talktofrank.com/article.aspx?id=8031 Omand, D. December 2010. Report of the 2010 NDPB Review of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. Accessed on July 19, 2011. Available at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/alcohol-drugs/drugs/acmd1/2010-ndpb-review-acmd?view=Binary Saner, E. December 5, 2009. Mephedrone and the problem with 'legal highs'. The Guardian. Accessed on July 19, 2011. Available at http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/dec/05/mephedrone-problem-legal-highs Yates, P. September 15 2010. legal highs: An Unknown Quantity. Accessed on July 19, 2011. Available at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/media-centre/video-transcripts/legal-highs-unknown/ Read More