Government plans to ban legal "party drugs"

LONDON (Reuters) - New measures to ban so-called "party drugs" were announced by the government on Thursday.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said it would consult on its plans to control the recreational drugs GBL and BZP, known as herbal ecstasy, which give users "legal highs."

"I am determined that we respond to the dangers of these drugs and that is why I have committed to controlling them," she said. "It is absolutely right that we continue to adapt our drug policy to the changing environment of substance misuse."

"This is the next step in tackling the unregulated market of so called 'legal highs.'"

GBL and its precursor 1,4 BD are widely used legally as solvents but when ingested they can be converted in the body into GHB, also known as liquid ecstasy, which is already a Class C controlled drug.

Last year the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs said GBL should be made a Class C drug, saying GHB was potentially fatal and that it had also been linked to "date rape" cases because of its potentially debilitating effect.

It also recommended the stimulant BZP, which some users reported had caused adverse reactions such as vomiting, stomach pains and palpitations, should also be outlawed.

The consultation also sets out the government's plan to add a further 24 anabolic steroids to its list of steroids currently controlled as Class C drugs.

(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Steve Addison)