MPs urge Theresa May to reverse qat ban

Stumulent widely used by Somali and Yemeni communities was criminalised without proper evidence of its harm, committe saysMPs are urging Theresa May, the home secretary, to reverse the government's ban on the herbal stimulant qat, which is widely used in Britain's Somali and Yemeni communities.A Commons home affairs select committee report published on Friday said the decision to ban qat, also known as khat, was not based on any evidence of medical or social harm and that it would be better to license importers of the plant.The call to reverse the decision on qat came as the government's advisory council on the misuse of drugs (ACMD) recommended that two new legal highs should be banned.The drug experts said a substance known as NBOMe or N-bomb, which imitates the effects of the hallucinogenic LSD, should become a class A drug with a maximum sentence of life for dealers. NBOMe is a popular club drug that has been linked by police to at least two deaths.The second, known as Benzo Fury and marketed as a legal form of ecstasy, is recommended to become a class B drug along with amphetamines and other former legal highs that imitate the effects of cannabis.A decision to list both substances as controlled drugs under the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act will have the effect of criminalising possession of NBOMe and Benzo Fury, introducing swingeing penalties for importation and supply. Both are currently subject to a 12-month banning order that makes the import and supply illegal but does n...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: theguardian.com Middle East and North Africa Somalia World news Yemen Drugs Politics Drugs policy Theresa May Science Source Type: news