U.K. to Ban All Legal Highs

Queen Elizabeth announced Wednesday that the British government plans to introduce a blanket ban on legal highs. The proposed wording of the legislation is currently so wide-ranging that it would also appear to ban alcohol, cigarettes, and coffee. A ban on the trade of psychoactive substances would impose a maximum seven-year prison sentence for those trading “any substance intended for human consumption that is capable of producing a psychoactive effect.” The measure is a response to a growing class of chemically engineered drugs that are de facto legal in the U.K. until they are specifically banned. Proponents say the measure would exclude coffee, alcohol, medicine, and cigarettes, even though those technically fall under the ban’s scope.