Proposed U.K. bill would ban all legal highs — including alcohol and coffee

A proposed U.K. bill, expected to be published later this week, includes a "blanket ban" on legal highs, and the current legislation is worded to make the ban so broad that alcohol, cigarettes, and coffee are included unless specific exemptions are issued.

Queen Elizabeth announced the legislation on Wednesday, and the bill would ban "any substance intended for human consumption that is capable of producing a psychoactive effect." The legislation would carry a maximum seven-year prison sentence for offenders, The Guardian reports. The bill would first ban all psychoactive substances and then explain which substances are government-permitted.

Ireland and Poland have similar bans, but their legislation stipulates that substances must produce "significant" effects, so the laws don't include caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco. The U.K. legislation is designed to prohibit chemically engineered drugs that are legal until explicitly banned.

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