Source: Daily Telegraph
Contact: et.letters@telegraph.co.uk

'Herbal high' drug dealers to face prison
By Victoria Macdonald, Health Correspondent

SUPPLIERS of drugs promoted as legal alternatives to ecstasy and cannabis
will face two years' imprisonment and an unlimited fine, it is to be
announced this week.

Alan Milburn, the Health Minister, is to crack down on the drugs, known as
"herbal highs", which have been linked to mental health problems and at
least 15 deaths in America. "There is a need for tough action to tackle
this growing craze of targeting vulnerable youngsters," he said last night.

The drugs have names such as Druids Fantasy, Skull Cap, Herbal Ecstasy,
Purples and Road Runner and are sold in clubs and specialist shops, at pop
festivals and by mail order. There has been growing concern about the
health problems caused by the drugs' active ingredients, including khat,
ephedra and ephedrine.

Last year, doctors warned of the dangers of Ma Huang, a herbal alternative
to ecstasy which contains ephedrine, after a user developed psychosis and
jumped from a hospital window at Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow,
northwest London.

Under the Medicines Act 1968, it is illegal to sell a product that claims
to have a physiological effect on the mind or body unless it is licensed.

It is also illegal to make medicinal claims in marketing literature for an
unlicensed product.

The Department of Health wants to take the suppliers and promoters of these
drugs to court in order to prove that the herbal highs come under the
jurisdiction of the Medicines Control Agency (MCA), which is responsible
for licensing drugs.

The drugs would then have to go through a rigorous testing and licensing
procedure, which can take years. Even if they passed, they would probably
be available only on prescription. Warnings were issued to traders last
year by the MCA about the promotion and sale of the drugs, but had little
effect.

MCA officers will go undercover to make test purchases of the herbal highs.
Traders who refuse to stop selling the drugs will face prosecution under
the Medicines Act, the maximum penalty of which is two years' imprisonment
and/or an unlimited fine.

Promotional literature describes the drug Fantasy as an "aphrodisiac mood
elevator that lifts your spirits and will keep you up all night". Druids
Dream promises users an "LSDtype experience". It is claimed that Valerian
has a calming and pacifying effect similar to that produced by Valium,
"easing comedowns" from other drugs.

The National Poisons Information Unit in London welcomed the Government
move. A spokesman said the manufacture of the drugs must be controlled.

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