Deadly 'legal high' dance drug faces ban

The legal high, which has been linked to up to 25 deaths in England and Scotland, will be banned and made a Class B drug, he said. A ban on importing it will come into force today.

The announcement came after Mr Johnson was given a report backing a ban on mephedrone – also known as M-Cat and sold as a plant food – from Professor Les Iversen, chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.

Speaking at the Home Office after talks with Prof Iversen, Mr Johnson said he had accepted the council's advice. The ban will cover not just mephedrone but all similar substances in a group called cathinones.

But it is likely to come into force by the end of April.

"As a result of the council's swift advice, I am introducing legislation to ban not just mephedrone and other cathinones but also to enshrine in law a generic definition so that, as with synthetic cannabinoids, we can be in the forefront of dealing with this whole family of drugs," he said.

"This will stop unscrupulous manufacturers and others peddling different but similarly harmful drugs.

"My department will lay the necessary Order in Parliament tomorrow. "I am seeking cross-party support to swiftly ban these dangerous drugs from our streets.

"Parliament permitting, I hope to do this in a matter of weeks.

"In the meantime, I have today banned the importation of mephedrone, other cathinones, and all products containing these drugs with immediate effect.

Mr Johnson denied the ACMD was in "any sort of turmoil" over the resignation of Dr Polly Taylor yesterday.

Dr Taylor quit as the veterinary member on the committee, accusing ministers of not dealing fairly with independent scientific advice.

Prof Iversen said the generic ban would mean there would be no way around the ban despite what any "smart chemist in China" could come up with.

Prof Iversen said the rise of mephedrone was an "alarming trend".