Scots chemist: I'll flood the market with legal highs

Dave Llewellyn, who operates from Belgium, has accused politicians of seeking publicity from their drive to outlaw new party drugs such as mephedrone, and warned that he could easily release one that is eight times stronger if the government bans his new product.

Home Secretary Theresa May declared war on so-called legal highs on Thursday, announcing that naphyrone, which is also known as NRG-1, is to be reclassified as a class B drug.

Like the recently-banned mephedrone, which was linked to 25 deaths in England and Scotland earlier this year, it has been sold as plant food to bypass drug laws. Mrs May now wants the introduction of temporary bans on all potentially dangerous new drugs to give scientists time to consider the evidence.

Drug manufacturer Mr Llewellyn, who is originally from Fife, has spoken out previously about the dangers of NRG-1.

However, he believes that it should be the individual's right to decide what substances they take and, last night he launched a scathing attack on the government

He said: "We have tried to work with both the last administration and the present one. Both have refused to reply to our letters. So Theresa May and her sidekicks are only interested in publicity.

"However, they can only ban things when they become a problem. By that time, we have moved tonnes.

"Right now, I have enough new chemicals on my books to last for the next 15 years, even if they bring in such a ban. We proact, and the miserable excuse that we have for politicians overreact, as they are programmed to do.

"Personally, though, they have no relevance to me or my business. I have a product now that, when smoked, is four times stronger than crack cocaine. I have something that feels like coke when snorted. They know what the chemicals are.They are on my website.

"But if they ban them, I will release something else that is eight times more potent."

He added: "They cannot ban people's right to their own bodies."

Mr Llewellyn, who sells products through his Alchemy Labz website, believes the legal highs would be safer if they were legalised so that proper warnings could be put on labels, rather than having to brand the substances as plant food.

Mrs May described legal highs yesterday as the "next battle" in the fight against drugs.

She said the government was banning naphyrone following a recommendation by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD).

It found naphyrone had considerable potential for misuse and accidental overdose because of its potency.

The likely harm includes adverse impact on the heart and blood vessels, hypothermia, dependence and psychiatric effects.

Giving evidence to the Commons home affairs committee, Mrs May said: "Legal highs is the next battle in an ongoing battle.

"One of the problems is the speed with which these drugs are coming through. That's why we do want to introduce the possibility of a temporary ban."

She said a temporary ban would mean drugs could be outlawed at the first signs of a potential problem.

Mrs May added that she was aiming to have legislation in place for such bans by autumn next year based on the available scientific evidence.