Poppers can’t fall under legal highs ban as they’re not psychoactive, experts tell government
By Jack Sommers
The Psychoactive Substances Act, which was criticised for being so vague it could ban things as benign as scented pillows, does not proscribe alkyl nitrates, a drug particularly popular among gay men. But the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) has told the Home Office poppers are not covered by the Act as they do not work by “stimulating or depressing the central nervous system”.
“The ACMD’s consensus view is that a psychoactive substance has a direct action on the brain and that substances having peripheral effects, such as those caused by alkyl nitrites, do not directly stimulate or depress the central nervous system,” the experts wrote in their advice.
Campaigners welcomed the news, which many had feared would unduly target the gay community.
Niamh Eastwood, Executive Director of Release, the UK centre of expertise on drugs and drug laws, told HuffPost UK she was not surprised at ACMD’s conclusions. She said Release’s legal experts believed no substance fell under the Act’s remit because of its poorly-worded definition. She said Home Office Minister Mike Penning had “repeatedly” told parliament that poppers would be banned under the Act and said the latest news showed it was “most likely unenforceable”. She added: “The ACMD’s advice today could not be any clearer, poppers are not psychoactive and do not fall within the Act. “This comes as no surprise, this legislation is badly drafted, most likely unenforceable and may result in greater harms as has happened in Ireland and Poland where similar law has been enacted.”
The Act enables the Home Secretary to declare certain substances exempt but the ACMD recommended this was not necessary as poppers were not psychoactive, according to the Act’s definition, to begin with.
Poppers are popular as a muscle relaxant, often to facilitate sex.
During a reading on the Bill in the House of Commons, MP Crispin Blunt, who recently came out as gay, outed himself as a user of the drug.
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