Psychoactive Substances Bill [Lords]

The Minister has already said that some people in this House, although they do not like psychoact...

I did not expect to be in confrontation with the hon. Lady so early on, but I think, yet again, t...

rose—

I will make a bit of progress before we come back into confrontation.

No confrontation.

I will give way then.

I hope that the Minister accepts that those people who have concerns about this legislation have ...

If I thought that was going to happen, I would not be standing at this Dispatch Box. It has not h...

The right hon. Gentleman will know from his experience in Northern Ireland that it is organised c...

Under this legislation, the highest penalty for selling or purchasing these products—particularly...

Nutmeg.

Yes, nutmeg and the scent of a flower. That would be complete and utter tosh. We will ensure that...

The Minister mentioned the Home Affairs Committee inquiry. In fact, the Government caught the Com...

I look forward to the report, not least because of the excellent work that I know has been carrie...

rose—

If the hon. Gentleman will bear with me, I will give way once I have finished this part of my spe...

The Minister mentioned amendments in the House of Lords and sentencing. He will know, because we ...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right; we have corresponded on this matter. I have looked carefully ...

I congratulate the Minister on the speed with which he has introduced this Bill. I have called fo...

We want such places to close down before this Bill is passed. I want this House to send a message...

I very much commend this Bill. I have been calling for it for many years. The Sentencing Council ...

That important matter was put to me when I gave evidence to the Home Affairs Committee. The diffe...

Will the Minister outline for us just how this legislation will deal with those who sell or buy o...

It will be just the same as if a person went to a head shop. It is illegal. The National Crime Ag...

I welcome the fact that the Government have worked with the Scottish Government on this issue of ...

The Scottish Government were working on this matter long before I became the Minister. It was a r...

When I raised this matter on my Facebook page yesterday asking for the views of young people in m...

I can confirm that. There are uses for some of these drugs within industry, and we want that to c...

Further to the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle (Andrew Stephenson), it seems t...

My hon. and learned Friend has studied the Bill and I have worked with him on other Bills, so I k...

If the Irish ban has been so successful, why has the lifetime prevalence of the use of novel psyc...

The answer is no, because I do not want any more deaths, which will happen if we hold back now an...

Prevalence has gone up.

The hon. Lady shouts across the Chamber from a sedentary position, but she has not brought the Ch...

rose—

I will not give way—actually, I will. Has the hon. Lady been to the Republic of Ireland and spoke...

I have not spoken to them directly, but I have evidence in my hand that tells me that the prevale...

So, the answer to my question was no, and the hon. Lady has not been to the Republic of Ireland a...

Can the Minister tell us the effect of the ban on khat? The reports are that its use continues, b...

I am sure that many individuals in this House could pick on individual substances that have gone ...

The Minister mentions the word “possession”. The word “prisons” appears on the face of the Bill o...

I have received a large number of delegations that have made arguments about the effect on the pr...

My understanding was that those who would be criminalised by the Bill were those who were supplyi...

The spirit of the Bill is that we do not want to criminalise individuals for possession, but we a...

rose—

The hon. Lady asked me a question, and I will answer it. In Committee, we will study the Bill lin...

So, is the Minister saying that purchasing will be criminalised, but not use? As I understand it,...

I do not understand this argument, and I do not know whether the shadow Minister does. If someone...

If you get it for free, is that all right?

The hon. Gentleman makes a comment when he is not even in the Chamber—he should know better, as h...

I am a little confused by the diversion from where I thought we were going. Would not a purchaser...

That is exactly the situation, and that is exactly what the Bill says. I do not understand the di...

Several Members wish to intervene, but I want to provide opportunities for other Members to make ...

If this is about people knowing that the products are illegal, can the Minister tell us a little ...

My hon. Friend makes an important point. As I said earlier, this is only one part of a campaign t...

I confess to the Minister—I am trying to help—that I am a little confused as well. I do not think...

I apologise if I have confused hon. Members. Let me try again. There are relevant provisions: pro...

I thank the Minister for that. I support the Bill, but I am slightly concerned about clause 8, wh...

That is not the Bill’s intention. As we go through the Bill in Committee we will endeavour to iro...

rose—

I will give way once more, then I will wind up.

The Minister is very generous. Does he agree that there is a particular challenge in dealing with...

That is exactly the point, and it is important that we close any loopholes, but there are no inte...

rose—

I will give way once more, but then I will wind up, as Members wish to speak in the debate.

I am grateful to the Minister. To follow up the point made by Scottish National party Members, wi...

The logic is to try to stop dealers bringing stuff in through websites. That is close to the legi...

The Opposition support the principles of the Bill. The 2015 Labour manifesto included a commitmen...

Does the hon. Lady share my concern, which we need to consider when we think about the Bill, that...

I accept what the hon. and learned Gentleman says, but one of the things I find particularly repu...

This aspect did not go to the Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs and has therefore been pu...

The hon. Lady is absolutely right; I completely and utterly agree. Education is the key to this. ...

I raised this issue with the Minister in Ireland, where local authorities and others can use the ...

I am grateful to the Minister for that assurance. If the ban pushes supply away from the high str...

The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction in Lisbon has reported that the lifet...

I have only been in this job for two weeks, but if I had been in it for a bit longer and the Publ...

I will not take that groan personally. To follow up on the intervention by the hon. Member for Ne...

I genuinely think that Ireland is much more comparable to us than Poland. However, I do not think...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

No, I will make some progress.

Before my hon. Friend continues, is she aware of the recent evidence from Ireland showing that th...

I thought I had said that, but I obviously did not say it well enough. However, I thank my hon. F...

A point that may not have occurred to the hon. Lady arises from the two points that she has put t...

I am clearly being far too subtle. I am not often accused of that. I talked about resources and c...

Perhaps I was a bit too subtle as well, because I think I said that we would do that.

We are not often accused of that, are we?

No.

In conclusion, the Opposition want the best possible Bill so that young people are not exposed to...

Order. We have calculated that with 17 Members wishing to catch the eye of the Chair, it works ou...

It is a pleasure to follow the shadow Minister. I very much enjoyed her subtly constructive contr...

How will the Bill reduce the prevalence of Spice in prisons, when all illegal drugs are freely av...

I have already talked, in exchanges with those on the Front Bench, about amendments I would like ...

I rise to offer the Scottish National party’s tentative support for the Bill to proceed to the ne...

An organisation called FASA, which is doing some great work in my constituency, has indicated to ...

I will always support treating drug use as a health issue above anything else, so obviously I wou...

I do not want to let this subject pass. The Republic of Ireland has very clear legislation with a...

I think the legislation in the Republic of Ireland is interesting. It is one of a number of count...

I rise to speak in favour of the Bill. It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Glasgow Nor...

I should say at the start that I am instinctively hostile to drugs and their excessive use, be th...

I do not mean this unkindly and I realise that the Lib Dems are moving on from the manifesto on w...

I would have to check that. All I want to do is say what I believe, which is ultimately what we s...

The hon. Gentleman, like a few others, is making a great play about this Lisbon-based European mo...

The hon. Gentleman might be right—I thank him for his intervention—but that does not in any way u...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Let me make this point, as I am conscious that other people, perhaps including the hon. Gentleman...

The hon. Gentleman cited Poland, but did not reference his source. He is now cites evidence from ...

Rather than dealing with the accusation that the hon. Gentleman makes, my concern is to encourage...

It is a privilege to be called to speak in this important debate. I join many right hon. and hon....

I had the distressing experience of hearing the evidence to the Home Affairs Committee, particula...

I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I very much welcome the Bill.

Attempting to prove the behavioural impact of cannabis on fitness to drive is subjective and can ...

It is always a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Enfield, Southgate (Mr Burrowes), particula...

Rubbish!

No, it’s not rubbish; it’s factual.

My message to the Government and the message of those i...

As the hon. Gentleman knows, I was only just walking in when he started talking about Brighton, P...

I have done my homework and I can tell you that it is a place where heroin deaths are going up. T...

I have!

Talk to those who have been on heroin in my area and see what it is doing to them, their lives, t...

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. The way that the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann)...

I thank the hon. Lady for that point of order, but things are getting a little heated. She was ma...

The speech is now complete.

10.16 pm

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann). I hope to make a short cont...

We can call these things what we like—legal highs, new psychoactive substances, NPSs, lethal high...

I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate. I join my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow No...

I warmly welcome the Bill, and I can say with a fair degree of confidence that many of my Chester...

I apologise for intervening—I know that my colleagues would like to go home—but I think that the ...

I absolutely understand the Minister’s point. As I said earlier, I believe that the Bill will put...

I am pleased to have an opportunity to participate in this debate. It is important to focus on wh...

This is why we have given such wide-ranging powers to trading standards in the legislation. When ...

I am grateful to the Minister.

Before I touch on our experience in Belfast, I want to menti...

Let’s just knock this one on the head once and for all. I have written to all the bishops to tell...

Thank you very much, Minister. I am sure that the bishops will be delighted. That is a positive n...

My hon. Friend is far too modest to tell the House that he was involved in the legislative change...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, although he did not give me the opportunity to be modest or othe...

I will be as quick as I can, Mr Deputy Speaker. Like my colleagues, I support the Second Reading ...

I believe the Chair of the Home Affairs Committee wanted to make it clear that we know people are...

Absolutely. I do not intend to give away any of our conclusions or the recommendations we are goi...

First, let me thank right hon. and hon. Members for contributing to this good debate. I wish to t...

We have had an excellent debate this evening and I am grateful to all Members who have taken part...