Mephedrone to be banned after UK deaths

Dance drug mephedrone will be banned in the UK within weeks, British Home Secretary Alan Johnson announced today.

The legal high, which has been linked to up to 25 deaths in England and Scotland, will be banned and made a Class B drug, he said. A ban on importing the drug will come into force today.

The announcement came after Mr Johnson was given a report backing a ban on mephedrone – also known as M-Cat or Plant Food – from Professor Les Iversen, chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.