UK will defy EU over legal high laws, Home Office says In a written ministerial statement, Mr Baker said that the opt out "should not in any way be considered to diminish our commitment to tackle this issue." "We are looking at a range of options including legislative ones to enable us to deal with the dangers many of these substances present even more speedily and effectively," Mr Baker said. The number of deaths from drugs known as "legal highs," such as miaow miaow, reached the highest number ever recorded in 2012. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said deaths linked with the psychoactive substances jumped from 29 in 2011 to 52 last year, an 80 per cent rise. Even as recently as 2007 the annual number of deaths from the new synthetic drugs was in single figures. Many of the so-called legal highs - which give the user euphoric sensations similar to the drug ecstasy - have been made illegal by the Home Office but the law struggles to keep pace with a proliferation of different types. Synthetic drugs sold under the names Black Mamba and Mexxy were made Class B drugs in 2012 and Theresa May, the Home Secretary, authorised temporary bans on two other groups - Benzofury and NBOMe - in June. Mephedrone, or miaow miaow, was made illegal in 2010. A boom in websites selling mind-altering substances by mail order for as little as 10p a hit, and a network of high street suppliers, has made the UK the legal drugs capital of Europe, according to experts.