Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria she plans to apply to determine which psychoactive substances are not covered by the proposed psychoactive substances ban.

To protect young people and others from exposure to potentially dangerous substances, the Psychoactive Substances Bill provides for a blanket ban on the supply of psychoactive substances.

The Bill captures substances supplied for human consumption for their psychoactive effects. Schedule 1 to the Bill contains a wide list of exemptions, developed in conjunction with other government departments, capturing substances already controlled by existing regulation such as food, alcohol, caffeine, tobacco and medicines.

Further substances can be exempted following consultation between the Secretary of State, the Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs and other consultees as considered appropriate.

The Government does not support a regime which allows for the regulated sale of so called ‘low harm’ psychoactive substances and the regulation-making power in clause 3 is not designed for such a purpose (as evidenced by the absence of any associated provisions in the Bill to regulate the sale of approved ‘low harm’ psychoactive substances).