Drug minister bans five legal highs from midnight

Lynne Featherstone accepts advisory council's recommendation of 12-month ban on substances including most widely used alternative to cocaine

Five legal highs, including an alternative to cocaine that is one of the most common in Britain, are to be banned from midnight on Thursday, ministers have announced.

The drug minister, Lynne Featherstone, said she had accepted a recommendation from the government's official drug advisers that the five legal highs should face a temporary ban of 12 months while a full assessment of the harm they posed was undertaken.

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Ethylphenidate-based products are a growing issue and their use is associated with bizarre and violent behaviour

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