New psychoactive substances banned from today

Those found guilty of acting against these prohibited acts may face up to seven years in prison under the newly introduced Psychoactive Substances Act 2016.

A survey carried out by the YMCA, prior to the implementation of the ban, showed that although usage as a whole was likely to decrease after criminalisation, around 66 per cent of the young people who currently consume these substances are likely to continue to do so.

And some experts have suggested that the ban will force dealers onto the dark web.

Commander Simon Bray, the National Police Chiefs Council’s lead on New Psychoactive Substances, said: “Clearly, there will be some movement onto the dark net, where people find it lucrative to sell substances and where people are going to buy them.”

The Psychoactive Substances Act states that a substance produces a psychoactive effect “if by stimulating or depressing the person’s central nervous system, it affects the person’s mental functioning or emotional state”.

A number of substances including food, alcohol, caffeine and officially sanctioned medical products are excluded from this legislation.

Since it was proposed in 2015 the legislation has been constantly criticised for its lack of certainty and its infringement of basic rights and freedoms.

Barrister Matthew Scott wrote in The Telegraph that the legislation sought to “ban pleasure”.

He wrote: “Did you know that tea was a ‘psychoactive substance’? Well under this new law it will be, and you will be allowed to drink it only as a special exemption from the normal rule.

“Whatever the wisdom of the goal, the government seems to have decided that banning 500 substances is not enough. It must ban almost everything that gives pleasure.”