Amendments to the controversial legislation to ban legal highs, which include exemptions for use in research, have been approved by both houses.
On 26 January, the House of Lords discussed and agreed amendments to the bill that will pre-emptively ban so-called legal highs, substances that induce similar effects to illegal drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy but that are not included under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
The bill would make it an offence to produce or supply any substance capable of producing these psychoactive effects for human consumption, but academics said that this put research, particularly in neuroscience, at risk.
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