Priti Patel says she’s ‘minded’ to formally legalise poppers

Home secretary Priti Patel has said she is “minded” to explicitly decriminalise poppers, the muscle-relaxing drug used mostly by gay men during sex.

Possession of the drug – given the scientific name alkyl nitrites – is not illegal, but supply can sometimes be a criminal offence.

The government’s 2016 Psychoactive Substances Act did not specifically exempt poppers from prohibitions aimed at cracking down on the supply of so-called “legal highs”.

In a letter to the government’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, Ms Patel told the body’s chairman Professor Owen Bowden-Jones that “the lawfulness of the supply of poppers is uncertain”.

She added: “I am minded to remove this uncertainty by explicitly exempting poppers from the 2016 Act. I would seek the ACMD’s advice on an exemption.”

Poppers have been used recreationally since the 1970s and give an instant “high” when sniffed from bottles. It can be used as a muscle relaxant.

According to the government’s own Frank drugs website, “poppers increases blood flow and can relax the walls of the anus and vagina … some people take it while they’re having sex.”

Tory MP Crispin Blunt, chair of the Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group, welcomed the move to clear up the drug’s legal status. “Many gay men will be grateful to the home secretary for this clear direction of policy, as indeed am I,” he said.

The ACMD has previously advised ministers that poppers should not fall under the scope of the Psychoactive Substances Act because they do have a direct effect on the central nervous system – unlike some other so-called “legal highs”.

Ms Patel has also asked the ACMD to look into a rise in cocaine use among young men.

A Home Office spokesperson told The Independent: “Our approach on drugs is clear – we must prevent drug use in our communities, support people through treatment and recovery, and tackle the supply of illegal drugs.

“As this letter sets out, we are continuing to work in consultation with the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to consider any new evidence of misuse, harms and diversion.”