Another reverse in the war on drugs: here comes the hi-tech high | David Shariatmadari

When a legal gadget can induce calm, energy or euphoria, what chance have MPs trying to police altered states?

Mind control may not have been one of the stated aims of the Conservative manifesto, but the psychoactive substances bill does read like an attempt to wedge shut the doors of perception. Its scope is any material that "affects the person's mental functioning or emotional state". The list of exemptions shows that practically anything we put in our bodies can do that; "food", for instance. Even so, such is the pace of innovation that the law might already be unable to stop people getting high. Thync, a US company, allows its customers to choose from a menu of "mental alertness", "bursts of physical energy", "detachment from stressful thoughts", even "mild euphoria".

Related: Queen's speech: the day 'psychoactive drugs' tripped off the royal tongue