Mephedrone will finally become an illegal drug this Friday in the UK, the Home Office has announced.

After media outcry and a controversial recommendation from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, mephedrone and related cathinone drugs – currently sold as legal highs – will be listed as class B drugs from 00.01 on 16 April.

The issue of mephedrone once again raised the spectre of David Nutt, the former head of the ACMD whose sacking last year triggered a furious row over the use of science advice that the current government has not yet put to bed (see: Mephedrone on borrowed time and UK election watch).

Some online mephedrone retailers are already urging customers to “buy now” before the ban comes in. Before the ban was announced some drug experts were predicting other ‘legal highs’ would quickly appear to fill the void and circumvent this ban.