[Mrluvaluva]

Dance drug GBL, which caused the death of a medical student, is to be banned by the end of the year, Home Secretary Alan Johnson has said.

Other so-called "legal highs", cannabis substitute Spice and amphetamine replacement BZP, will also be outlawed.

Hester Stewart, 21, died in April after taking GBL, which is used by clubbers as a substitute for banned drug GHB, known as "liquid ecstasy".

GBL - gamma-butyrolactone - will be classified as a Class C drug, meaning users could be punished with a two-year jail term and dealers up to 14 years.

But Ms Stewart's mother Maryon said GBL should be placed in Class A alongside heroin and ecstasy.

She also criticised delays in bringing in the ban, warning it could mean more deaths.

Spice, which will be placed in Class B alongside cannabis, is made using synthetic chemicals and herbs and sold in so-called "head shops". It has been linked to mood swings and paranoia.

BZP (Benzylpiperazine) and related piperazines, which are stimulants taken as an alternative to amphetamine, will be controlled as Class C drugs.

Ministers will also ban 24 different anabolic steroids used by bodybuilders but linked to extreme anger known as "roid rage", stunted growth and fertility problems.

Mrs Stewart said: "I think GBL is every bit as dangerous as heroin and ecstasy, if not more so. Because it's lethal when combined with alcohol it should be a Class A drug.

"We need to review the whole system because right now our kids are incredibly vulnerable and we have let them become so."

She said she had hoped the ban could have been brought in before the start of the summer recess.

"It's not moving as quickly as we would like. It's really disappointing from my point of view because there will be other deaths and other families that have to deal with tragedies."

A campaign targeting students and clubbers warning of the dangers of legal highs will be launched to coincide with the start of the university term.

Home Secretary Alan Johnson said: "There is a perception that many of the so called 'legal highs' are harmless.

"However, in some cases people can be ingesting dangerous industrial fluids or smoking chemicals that can be even more harmful than cannabis."


SKY

[Ramsay]

rage
my friends and i usually buy spice or smoke whenever we cant get weed