Dealers in the ‘monkey dust’ drug should face life in prison, an MP has said.
Stoke-on-Trent South MP Jack Brereton is calling for the reclassification of the drug from a Class B drug to Class A as a matter of “national urgency”.
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) is currently considering whether “certain synthetic cathinones, such as MDPHP and others termed ‘monkey dust’” warrant a tougher approach.
‘Zombies’
Writing in The Daily Express, Brereton said: “This horrific drug is ruining lives and tearing apart our communities.”
“Sadly, Stoke-on-Trent has been labelled UK capital of monkey dust, and the problem is that it’s too cheaply and readily available. Unbelievably, you can get a hit for as little as £2”.
As a consequence of “this life destroying drug”, he said, “people are found sitting or lying in the middle of the road in a comatose state”, with constituents “telling me that they feel unsafe walking amongst literal ‘zombies’”.
The MP concluded: “reclassifying it is a no brainer. It will choke off its supply, drive up its cost, and put gangs and dealers out of business”.
Review
Following the ACMD review, for which Brereton is gathering local evidence, it will return its advice to the Government.
Under UK law, Class A drugs carry a penalty of up to life in prison for supply, and up to seven years behind bars for possession.
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