New drug category for low-risk legal highs

Some people argue that all forms of drug abuse should be eliminated completely; however, this is an impossible task. Baroness Meacher from the European Initiative on drug policy reform has called for the creation of a new category, class D, which will cover legal highs that are not known to cause health problems.

The new category could also include weak cannabis as well as some party drugs. The idea is to inform would-be users which drugs pose the greatest risks. Some legal drugs are far more harmful to health than others, and educating people by recategorising the safer drugs could be an effective way to reduce abuse of more harmful drugs.

This forms part of a European Commission (EC) proposal to take a risk-based approach to drug regulation. This will have to cover legal highs, which are not currently regulated drugs. While the EC says that there will not be a blanket ban on all legal highs, it does plan to control at least what is considered to be more harmful. Some UK politicians are not so keen to simply follow Europe’s lead on this matter.

Of course, a change in policy on drug regulation, whether in Europe or the UK, will not automatically change the demand for specific drugs. Cannabis use has increased in America and the UK during the last ten years.

New Zealand has already created a new class D category. Under the terms, suppliers have to provide scientific evidence that their substances are of low harm to users before they are able to sell them.

The main benefit of a class D drug category is that pharmacies could be licensed to sell it, which would provide youngsters with a much safer environment in which to purchase recreational drugs. The quality of the drugs would also be regulated, reducing problems caused by poorly-manufactured illegal drugs.