THE FAMILY of a man killed after taking a legal high last summer has welcomed calls for a blanket ban on all brain-altering drugs.

Chris Scott was only 23 when he died after taking killer legal drug, AMT (alpha-methyltriptamine) in July last year.

The much loved dad-of-three from Parks died from multiple organ failure after trying the drug with friends he met up with at Buckhurst Fields, and since his death his family have led a campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of legal highs.

Yesterday the Home Office published a report calling for a blanket ban on all new psychoactive substances to protect users from the dangers associated with taking unregulated chemicals by targetting the law at the supplier.

Chris’ dad Mike, 48, said he welcomed the government’s approach to ban legal highs, which in many ways are even more dangerous than traditionally understand illegal drugs.

He said: “When we got to the hospital the trouble was that the doctors didn’t know what Christopher had taken so they didn’t know what to give him to make him better.

“The trouble is that we just don’t understand these things. Every time the government bans one they change the chemical make up and it’s legal again.

“The kids who are taking these drugs, these man-made drugs we don’t understand, aren’t thinking about the affects it will have. They are just concerned about not getting arrested. That’s why they are even more dangerous. Someone who has taken heroin, there is more history and research done into effects, and doctors know how to handle it better.

“This report has come out on the same day as a debate about whether they regulate drugs. And a lot of people are saying that use of heroin and cocaine has gone down since 2010.

“But what they don’t say is that the number of cases of people taking legal highs has gone up, because that’s what they are choosing to take.”

Currently, when a legal high is made illegal, manufacturers sidestep the law by tweaking the chemical compound and creating a new substance which is technically still legal.

But now the government will consider a new law that will see all new substances banned - except for certain exempt substances such as alcohol and tobacco.

The report said: “The actions recommended by the Panel will not resolve the New Psychoactive Substances problem faced in the UK fully but are likely to change its nature.

The detail of how the measures are implemented, and how they coordinate with each other, will be important in determining whether there is net overall benefit or disbenefit from increased control.”

Robert Buckland, MP for South Swindon and Solicitor General, welcomed the findings in the report and the Government’s ongoing commitment to tackle so-called legal highs.

He said: “I warmly welcome the report. The approach of targeting legal highs in general rather than on a substance-by-substance basis will stop the introduction of new chemically altered legal highs that manage to get around the current bans. This is a positive step and will also be welcome news to Christopher’s family, whom I pay tribute to.”

To read the report visit www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/368583/NPSexpertReviewPanelReport.pdf.