Psychoactive Substances

We certainly want stronger action from Europe on, for example, co-operation between member states...

What is the prognosis, assuming that the House agrees with the Minister’s sensible view tonight, ...

It would be helpful if this House passed a reasoned opinion, and there was certainly support in t...

Can the Minister say when in the past we have succeeded in winning an argument of this type on th...

I am not an expert on the history of EU legislation, fortunately, but this case seems to me to be...

I thoroughly support what the Minister is saying. This is not only unwelcome interference in a me...

So far there has not been great success with regard to the speed of activity from the European Un...

Would the Minister be kind enough to give way on a point of information, because I wish, through ...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that information. Of course, his knowledge of European matters is ...

Does the Minister believe that the European Commission’s impact assessment is mistaken? It states...

I do not think that is correct. Certainly, with regard to those substances classified as severe, ...

I know that the Minister has his finger on the pulse when it comes to the use of drugs in this co...

I am not sure whether I heard the question correctly, but the acquisition from the internet of le...

How does the Minister know that?

The Government and law enforcement agencies have investigative resources, so we monitor these thi...

One of the real problems with so-called legal highs is that they are available in shops on our hi...

Law enforcement agencies take action against the sale of illegal substances. As I have said, some...

I welcome the Minister to his post. The Opposition were particularly pleased about his appointmen...

I just want to put the record straight. The hon. Lady mentioned that there were 49 new drugs in 2...

I will come on to the discrepancies between the Home Office figures and the figures of other bodi...

Is the answer to the hon. Lady’s question that we are seeking to pass this measure today to demon...

If the right hon. Gentleman was listening, I was making the case for why I am questioning whether...

The hon. Lady rightly raises the question of us making our own determinations, which I hope she w...

The hon. Gentleman should perhaps look to his own coalition Government, who decided not to follow...

rose—

I am going to move on because I do not want to get sidetracked into a debate on khat as that is n...

The hon. Lady makes a detailed and powerful argument. I am gathering that she supports generally ...

I have a few more pages of notes, and then all will be revealed. The hon. Gentleman will have pic...

We have had an interesting exchange of views, resulting in the Government and the Opposition agre...

From experience, does my hon. Friend agree that it is usually the most dangerous state of affairs...

I would certainly agree that it is extremely dangerous when there is collusion between the two Fr...

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that when the Government, the Opposition and the European Scrutiny ...

We can be sure that our analysis will bear scrutiny and that the European Commission is getting u...

It must be rather galling for the most European of all parliamentarians, the Minister, having to ...

I am entirely unhappy about the use of the word “dissing”, but I think “predecessed” demands furt...

It is a late hour and I have had no substances of any height during the day, but I have been buil...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I would like to make my point first, so that the hon. Gentleman can understand it in its fullness...

I continue to be dazzled by the hon. Gentleman’s linguistic dexterity, which is reaching almost P...

I would have hoped that the hon. Gentleman was listening.

For two days, I got together youn...

Order. I am struggling to understand how the hon. Gentleman is going to relate all this to subsid...

Thank you for your guidance, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am constructing an argument to demonstrate p...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I dare not digress.

Like the Government, the European Union is doing nothing other than cre...

I tried to intervene earlier on this point. The hon. Gentleman keeps talking about countries like...

I am familiar with the system in Portugal, having met the Portuguese and seen the myths created b...

Has the hon. Gentleman not dissed himself by his previous argument? He suggests that we need to g...

The right hon. Gentleman is half right. If we cede it to the European Union, its caterpillar will...

I am so grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way in his brilliant speech, but I have a worry...

rose—

Order. I think it is time that we left the subject of caterpillars and lettuces and got to the ma...

I implore the Minister to reject this European Union attempt further to weaken our approach and t...

I shall try to be relatively brief and to resist the temptation to discuss the speech of the hon....

Perhaps I could correct the record. The new clause to which the hon. Gentleman referred would hav...

New clause 2 stated:

“It is an offence for a person to supply, or offer to supply, a psycho...

Will the hon. Gentleman tell me what his definition of “brief” is?

I suspect I will be one of the briefest speakers in this debate, not counting interventions. That...

I thank the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana Johnson), for he...

I strongly support the Minister’s stance against Europe on this issue and thank him for his detai...

It is certainly true that new substances appear all the time, and how we deal with that presents ...