XPost: uk.legal, uk.politics.drugs   
   From: drjohn@NOSPAM.hotpotmail.com   
      
   I tried this stuff once - and only once - it's awful. At over £6/g it's   
   more expensive than your local Vietnamese "skunk"!   
      
   Once again our drug laws are based on ignorance.   
      
      
      
   Drug experts advise ban on Spice   
      
   The government's drug experts today advised the home secretary to ban   
   Spice, a herbal smoking mixture thought to be as strong as some strains of   
   skunk cannabis.   
      
   The decision, which the home secretary, Alan Johnson, is expected to   
   endorse, marks the first official move to curb a burgeoning market in   
   "legal highs". Sales of herbal drug substitutes that contain neither   
   tobacco nor cannabis have grown rapidly through a network of online sites   
   and backstreet "head shops".   
      
   The government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) warns that   
   Spice Gold, which is advertised as a herbal high and an "aromatic   
   potpourri", is in reality far from innocuous. They say it contains   
   synthetic chemicals that mimic the effects of some of the more powerful   
   active ingredients in cannabis.   
      
   Professor David Nutt, the ACMD chair, said: "These are not harmless herbal   
   alternatives and have been found to cause paranoia and panic attacks. That   
   is why we are advising the government to bring a large number of synthetic   
   cannabinoids under the Misuse of Drugs Act.   
      
   "People need to know they pose a real danger and should not be seen as   
   safe alternatives to illegal substances."   
      
   The council's advice follows a request from the former home secretary   
   Jacqui Smith to investigate the product in March. She voiced her concern   
   over the "wide and largely unregulated market in the sale of psychoactive   
   legal alternatives to illegal drugs, particularly as they are actively   
   marketed to young people in head shops and via websites.   
      
   "Advice on the availability and harms of these so-called legal highs, with   
   a particular focus on protecting young people, will be very useful in   
   informing future government policies," Smith told the ACMD.   
      
   Spice Gold has been around since 2006, when it was first imported from   
   China. The smoking mixture costs £20 for a 3 gram pouch, and contains   
   mostly unidentified herbal matter, with ingredients such as dried flowers,   
   leaves and aroma extracts listed on the packet. It is sold in various   
   "flavours", with Arctic Energy, Yucatan Fire, Diamond and Silver promising   
   different strengths.   
      
   The Trojan Horse properties of Spice were identified in December by the   
   THC Pharm laboratory in Germany, which is developing medicinal cannabis.   
   The research led to a ban in Germany and Austria in January. France   
   followed suit in February.   
      
   Martin Barnes, the chief executive of the drugs information charity   
   DrugScope backed a ban on Spice products. He said making Spice a class B   
   drug alongside cannabis could remove the incentive for its manufacture and   
   supply as it would no longer be available as a legal alternative to   
   cannabis.   
      
   However, he said the move was unusual because it was based on evidence of   
   potential effects of Spice, rather than evidence of actual harm to   
   individuals and society.   
      
   Professor Leslie Iversen, chairman of the ACMD committee that drew up the   
   report on Spice, told his local paper, the Oxford Mail: "It's a very   
   clever product, sold as a herbal smoking mixture from China, but   
   containing chemicals which can be a lot more potent than cannabis. Users   
   have no idea what they are taking. As a result, they are running a   
   considerable risk of overdosing, which is not only unpleasant but   
   potentially quite dangerous."   
      
   It is expected that the ACMD will now consider the position of other legal   
   highs including Salvia divinorum, commonly known as magic mint or Mexican   
   sage. An official consultation over plans to ban two synthetic party   
   drugs, GBL and BZP – also known as "herbal ecstasy" – is due to end on   
   Thursday.   
      
   http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/aug/12/drug-experts-advise-spice-ban   
      
   --   
   John Watson   
   London   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)