Relax everybody, poppers aren’t being banned after all
By Ben Kelly
After the government banned certain legal highs in January, many people in the gay community feared this included poppers, but a government advisory body have now confirmed that it does not.
Poppers (chemically known as amyl nitrate) are popularly used among some gay men during sex, and are available over the counter.
With the introduction of the Psychoactive Substances Act, many people (ministers included) believed that they had been banned, and indeed it caused a colourful debate in the House of Commons during which Crispin Blunt MP admitted to using them regularly.
He said, “I use poppers. I ‘out’ myself as a popper user and would be directly affected by this legislation and I am astonished to find it is proposing to be banned, so would very many other gay men.”
The government’s body of drug advisors have now confirmed that poppers have such limited effects on the body that they couldn’t be included in the Psychoactive Substances Act.
They have written that, “a psychoactive substance has a direct action on the brain and that substances having peripheral effects, such as those caused by alkyl nitrites, do not directly stimulate or depress the central nervous system.”
So that’s all good then!
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