EXCLUSIVE: Romanian Govt To Ban "Legal Highs" Under Threat Of Heavy Fines, Prison

MEDIAFAX has obtained a draft government emergency ordinance banning the production, sale, distribution, donation, possession, introduction and advertising of "substitutes," defined as any substance of natural or synthetic origin, or any product, plant, fungus which, regardless of packaging, handling, content, presentation, advertising or name, may be used to produce a psychoactive effect and/or has a negative impact on individual or collective health, or on social behavior, and which is not regulated by other laws.

The draft "for the banning of substitutes, with a view to ensuring public health and protection" is based on laws adopted by Poland in November 2010, banning the production and sale of such substances and associated stores.

The Ministry of Health, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Communications, National Sanitary-Veterinary Authority, National Consumer Protection Authority, National Customs Authority and Financial Guard will be in charge of maintaining this ban.

The authorities will seize merchandise and suspend the company's activity, if there are "serious clues" that the substances being sold are illegal. If lab tests prove the goods have no psychoactive effects or a negative impact on public health, the suspension is reversed and goods returned.

Last year, the Government created a list of banned substances, in a move against plant-based narcotics. The draft ordinance says that previous efforts have been invalidated by the ease with which the chemical formula of drugs can be changed, allowing new substances with different structures to be sold openly, soon after regulations are introduced. "It is obvious that simply including these new psychoactive substances on lists (quickly rendered obsolete by the speed with which new substances are created) is not enough to counter this phenomenon," says the document.

Since most of these substances are not subject to special regulations, "legal high" shops are able to receive authorization from local authorities. The costs and workload associated with testing all these substances are very high, often blocking the activity of police laboratories.

The products are introduced into Romania through fast delivery services, mostly from China, with a declared value below $10, to avoid border controls. They are also brought in from Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and England, says the Government.

Two weeks ago, the Government decided to force "legal high" shops to sell solely approved products, while cracking down on the sale of hallucinogenic plants and associated substances. This approach was chosen after the Government found it cannot ban a chemical substance whose formula can be changed slightly by adding another legal chemical element.

On February 10, 2010, the Executive passed an emergency ordinance banning the distribution and sale of 36 hallucinogenic plants and substances. Still, hundreds of youths continued to use psychedelic substances, ending up in hospital in serious condition. Doctors and school authorities requested that shops selling such products be shut down.

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