Over the last few years, a new trend has emerged. There is emerging evidence that young people are taking new legal chemicals instead of or as well as other drugs. Most of these substances have never been tested for use by humans. The immediate risks they pose or the long term damage they are doing, are often not immediately apparent as their harms are unknown.

* If the problem is “young people”, why not restrict it like alcohol?
* Even if legal highs were trialled like pharmaceuticals, they’d still never be approved for consumption because they’re largely recreational

This Government is committed to an evidence-based approach. High quality scientific advice in this complex field is therefore of the utmost importance. This is why we value the work and independent advice of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), which has experts from fields that include science, medicine, law enforcement and social policy. We are committed to both maintaining this expertise and ensuring the ACMD’s membership has the flexibility to respond to the accelerating pace of challenges. The proper consideration of that advice is at the heart of enabling us to deliver this strategy, including the reforms required to tackle the problem of emerging new psychoactive substances (‘legal highs’).

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