Policy paper

ACMD report on the consideration of the cathinones

In March 2009, the then Home Secretary requested advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) on so called ‘legal highs’. …

• From: Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs
• Published: 31 March 2010

Documents

ACMD report on the consideration of the cathinones

PDF, 279 KB, 50 pages

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Details

In March 2009, the then Home Secretary requested advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) on so called ‘legal highs’. The ACMD have looked at a number of substances to date and provided advice on the piperazines and the synthetic cannabinoids (‘Spice).

The ACMD wrote to the Home Secretary in December 2009 setting out the ACMD’s concerns regarding the cathinones and mephedrone in particular, which first came to the ACMDs attention in the summer of 2009.

This is the ACMD’s report on the consideration of the cathinones. The ACMD recommends that the cathinone compounds be brought under control of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in Class B, Schedule I by way of a generic definition. Based on the attached evidence and by analogy with the amphetamines, the ACMD consider that the harms associated with the cathinones most closely equate with other compounds in Class B.

Published 31 March 2010