Change in law for 'legal high' MDAI

Drug will come under ban on psychoactive substances

A so-called 'legal high' will have its banned status altered in the new year.

MDAI - a stimulant drug which has been sold under names such as 'Sparkle E' and 'Charly Sheen' - was outlawed in the Island following the death of Ramsey teenager Tanya Hughes in 2011.

But from 1 January, MDAI will cease to be a Class C controlled substance, instead falling under a new blanket ban on psychoactive substances.

The maximum punishment for importing and supplying the drug will therefore decrease from 14 to 7 years' imprisonment.

The Psychoactive Substances Bill, which came into force in August this year, also has no prescribed penalty for mere possession - meaning those caught with small amounts of MDAI won't necessarily be prosecuted.