As the rest of the developed world slowly begins to “wake up” and adopt rational and evidence-based drug policy… the UK government cements its place as a regressive force with the passing of the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016.
Why is the UK moving backwards with its drug policy?
From gov.uk website:
A landmark Bill to end the trade in harmful psychoactive substances and protect young people in the UK from the risks posed by these drugs received Royal Assent today.
The Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 will prohibit the production, supply and importation of these potentially dangerous drugs.
Last year there were 129 deaths in England, Scotland and Wales and the Act aims to protect people from the harms caused by these often untested and unknown psychoactive substances.
129 deaths apparently warrants a blanket ban. That’s interesting.
In 2013 there were over 8,000 alcohol related deaths in the UK.
There were over 100,000 deaths in 2010 from smoking cigarettes (that’s almost one fifth of total deaths)
Meanwhile half the UK adult population is on prescription medication
In 2010 there were over 90,000 people hospitalized due to prescription medication overdoses – over 30,000 people are addicted to prescription painkillers.
UK readers, it’s quite clear: your government really does not give a fuck about you!
Local experts oppose the ban
A group of over 40 academics, professionals and campaigners have written an open letter to Prime Minister David Cameron opposing the act: http://2015.breakingconvention.co.uk/open-letter/
They explain:
…the enactment of the Psychoactive Substances Bill would be deleterious to the freedoms, well-being and ultimate safety of UK citizens…
The law will place the market in the hands of unregulated criminal organisations…
Medical science will suffer from the proposed legislation, just as it continues to suffer from the over rigid regulation of other controlled psychoactive substances. Scheduling psychoactive agents in a blanket ban will impede the development of novel psychiatric medicines and prevent vulnerable members of society from potentially benefiting from new treatments.
Furthermore, any legislation that prohibits the sale of all psychoactive compounds without proper consideration of their relative harms and benefits presents an unwarranted threat to the long-standing freedoms of UK citizens.
1P-LSD is available until April 2016
The new psychoactive substances (sometimes called ‘designer drugs’) targeted by the bill include 1P-LSD, which I’ve written about before.
I microdosed with 1P-LSD for 30 days and also had a more conventional trip – all my experiences with the substance were extremely positive.
The laws go into full effect on April 6 2016. After April 6 will be illegal to produce, sell, import or export these substances. Until then it is entirely legal to purchase 1P-LSD and other substances in the UK.
[It is no longer possible to legally purchase 1P-LSD online]
Further reading
- Experts view the UK Government’s legal highs ban as a “joke” – read more in Huck Magazine
Final Thoughts
This piece of regressive legislation is unfortunate but not the end of the world – as I’ve written about before the clear trend is towards sensible, science-based drug policy that respects the rights of human beings to explore their own consciousness.
Hopefully the UK soon sees the light and joins the rest of us in the 21st century, on this issue and others including freedom of speech and online censorship.
Read more: Drug Policy, Consciousness, & Our Future