Rather than allow manufacturers to put their products on the market and then ban them once they had been proven harmful, the government turned the tables and established a system under which pill makers would have to prove that their product was safe before they were allowed to sell it. The manufacturers’ claims would be assessed by a new Psychoactive Substances Regulatory Authority, which would have powers similar to the bodies that regulate medicines. In effect, the reform reversed the burden of proof: instead of the government constantly chasing after new products that had gone on sale, it
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