Legal highs “mexxy” and “black mamba” banned by government

Legal highs “mexxy” and “black mamba” are to be made class B drugs by the government, meaning that anyone caught with the drug could face five years in prison.

Anyone caught supplying the drugs could face up to 14 years in prison now that the drugs have been recognised as particularly dangerous.

Mexxy – or methoxetamine – is an amphetamine that has gained notoriety as a supposedly “safer” alternative to ketamine, which is currently a class C drug, whilst black mamba is a cannabinoid drug intended to be smoked.

Mexxy was made particularly notorious after it was found responsible for the deaths of a 59-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man in February this year. In April 2012 it also became the first drug to be banned under government powers which allow for the temporary ban of certain drugs while a permanent ban is discussed.

The move marks part of the government’s crackdown on legal highs. As Crime Prevention Minister Jeremy Browne explained: “People who take ‘legal highs’ are taking serious risks with their lives because often they do not know what they are taking and the drugs may contain harmful substances.”

He went on to say that the government is taking a wider view of the problem, banning drugs related to harmful drugs, as well as specific substances. 

He said: “The UK is addressing the harm caused by ‘legal highs’ by outlawing not just individual drugs, but whole families of related substances that have the potential to cause serious harm.”

Abbie Cavendish