HAMPSHIRE police and crime commissioner Simon Hayes has commended the Government on imposing a ban on five 'legal highs'.

The ban comes into force today and will last for up to 12 months, to allow the independent Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to decide whether they should be permanently controlled.

As reported, Mr Hayes backed the Daily Echo's Say No to Legal Highs campaign, which was launched in 2013 following the deaths of young people in Hampshire as a result of taking the substances.

It calls for tougher laws, for vendors and sellers to be held to account, and tighter controls to stop vulnerable youngsters from being able to buy the products over the counter.

Today's ban covers five compounds related to methylphenidate, a Class B drug, due to concerns about their misuse as new psychoactive substances (NPS).

Ethylphenidate, one of the drugs being banned, has emerged as an alternative to cocaine and is currently being sold using the street names 'Gogaine' and 'Burst'.

To prevent users from switching to related drugs with similar harms, the ACMD has also recommended that the following four drugs are banned:

· 3,4-Dichloromethylphenidate ('3,4-DCMP'),

· Methylnaphthidate,

· Isopropylphenidate and

· Propylphenidate.

Mr Hayes said: “I support the Government in imposing this ban. I hope however they will go further and pledge either a total ban or legislation governing their sale of these dangerous and life threatening poisons.