"Legal highs" no longer legal as ban comes in

"New psychoactive substances" – the so called legal highs – are no longer legal in the UK after new legal controls came into force today. 

Production, distribution, sale and supply of chemicals such as "spice", salvia, laughing gas and mephedrone, which are intended to give users the same effect as taking drugs such as cannabis or ecstasy, is now a criminal offence carrying a maximum seven year prison sentence.

Rather than specifying particular drugs, the Psychoactive Substances Act is designed to catch any substance intnded for human consumption that is designed to have a psychoactive effect, but its introduction was delayed from last month due to concerns over its enforceability.

Few prosecutions have resulted from similar legislation in Ireland due to difficulties in proving whether a particular substance is psychoactive, and police forces have warned that each successful case would require evidence from a qualified medical expert with experience of working with new psychoactive substances to be able to identify the substance and prove its psychoactivity.

Police will also be able to shut down "headshops" selling drugs and drug paraphernalia, and online dealers in the UK, but again there are concerns that the trade will simply be driven underground. In Ireland the number of outlets decreased following the ban, but the number of deaths from use of legal highs rose.

Last year legal highs were linked to more than 100 deaths in the UK and a rise in violent assaults in prison.

Criminal gangs are thought to be likely to move into the trade.