Unfortunately, the law changed in 2015. Possession, buying & selling without s Home Office licence carries a sentence of up to 2 years and/or a fine.
I used my own address because I have a plausible cover story if caught but in 2015 sn became a "reportable" substance. Unless you have a licence from the Home Office it's an offence to buy, sell or possess. Punishable by a sentence of up to 2 years and/or a fine.
UK Law relevant.
Reportable substances don't require a licence to buy, sell or possess. However, there is an obligation on suppliers to report suspicious attempts to acquire, and they do commit an offence if they don't report.
Whilst there is some Home Office/Police guidance on what they interpret as "suspicious," the law leaves this vague, and so suppliers are in a position of uncertainty. Given that the substance is of low value, there is little incentive for suppliers to put themselves at risk of prosecution for not reporting sales. They might just persuade a court and win the case, but it just isn't worth the risk, even though a half-decent defence barrister would have a fair chance of success.
Some suppliers claim that Reportables need a licence - either they do not understand the law, or more likely they find it convenient to blame the government when they decline to provide.
A junior government minister post was established about 18 months ago, and suicide prevention was included in the brief. It seems pretty obvious that there will have been "How do we stop suicide" meetings at a fairly high level and this minister, via her civil servants, will have targeted SN, because of its effectiveness, availability, economy and growing popularity and we are now seeing the results. The banter and chatter on sites like this, together with details of how and where to acquire will have eased their task.
One seller is stating that SN can't be sold from continental Europe to UK due to "IATA Rules." Smart move by the banners - IATA can ban whatever they like, and possibly would claim that SN is potentially corrosive if challenged. But who will challenge them anyway ?
*International Air Transport Association