I do not think that we should be doing this the other way round. I will explain why as I go along. My feeling is that this Bill should be about harms. Poppers have not been controlled by any Government. They have been around for decades—I think they were created in the late 19th century. I understand that they were used by some Ministers to keep them going at the Dispatch Box, and that they were prescribed at the time by their doctors. The reality is that if we ban poppers now and then unban them in four months’ time, it would create confusion. It would be better to allow the current situation to continue. If the test of significant harm is proved, then we should ban them and take them off the exempt list. We will not have created any underground laboratories that make synthetic poppers and then sell them in nightclubs. We will not be causing the harm that we would if we did not put them on the exempt list today.
Psychoactive Substances Bill [Lords]
Proceeding contribution from
Lyn Brown
(Labour)
in the House of Commons on Wednesday, 20 January 2016.
It occurred during Debate on bills on Psychoactive Substances Bill [Lords].
About this proceeding contribution
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604 c1447 Session
2015-16Chamber / Committee
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