Drugs part of wider substance abuse
The Misuse of Substances Act should place drugs in the wider context of substance misuse alongside alcohol, tobacco and other psychoactive substances.
The gradient of offences would incorporate the considerable body of law that already exists regulating the manufacture, sale and use of alcohol and tobacco:
- driving under the influence,
- supplying to people who are already intoxicated,
- using in a confined space and so on.
The index would also include steroids, volatile substances such as glues, solvents and aerosols, prescription drugs such as benzodiazepines, ‘legal highs’ like salvia divinorum and piperazines, and the many over-the-counter medicines that are susceptible to abuse.