The Psychoactive Substances Bill: An opportunity or threat for research? | Nick Davis

A bill before the House of Lords proposes new powers for the police to prosecute people involved in trade in legal highs. But can these drugs ever be beneficial? A research exemption would allow researchers to find out

On 9 June the United Kingdom's House of Lords will have its first opportunity to debate a new set of drugs laws. The Psychoactive Substances Bill, proposed by Conservative peer Lord Bates, reflects the new government's manifesto commitment to deal with legal highs. At present, legal highs (or "novel psychoactive substances") are identified and banned on a case-by-case basis, which means that the police and the courts must constantly react to new drugs, and a delay is added to the control of these substances.

The new bill's provisions mainly clarify a rather confusing and haphazard approach to legal highs, which were not anticipated when drugs laws were created in the 1970s. However I believe that there is one situation where the use of psychoactive drugs is currently illegal, and I argue that an amendment to this bill gives us an opportunity to create some good in the world: this is the case of research use of drugs in universities and clinical institutes.