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Misuse of Drugs Act 1971

Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to make new provision with respect to dangerous or otherwise harmful drugs and related matters, and for purposes connected therewith.
Citation	1971 c. 38
Introduced by	Reginald Maudling
Territorial extent	England and Wales; Scotland; Northern Ireland
Dates
Royal assent	27 May 1971
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (c. 38) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It represents action in line with treaty commitments under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.

Offences under the act include:

• Possession of a controlled drug unlawfully
• Possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply it
• Supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug (even where no charge is made for the drug)
• Allowing premises you occupy or manage to be used unlawfully for the purpose of producing or supplying controlled drugs

It is often presented as little more than a list of prohibited drugs and of penalties linked to their possession and supply. In practice, however, the act establishes the Home Secretary as a key player in a drug licensing system. Therefore, for example, various opiates are available legally as prescription-only medicines, and cannabis (hemp) may be grown under licence for 'industrial purposes'. The Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001, created under the 1971 Act, are about licensing of production, possession and supply of substances classified under the act.

The act creates three classes of controlled substances, A, B, and C, and ranges of penalties for illegal or unlicensed possession and possession with intent to supply are graded differently within each class. The lists of substances within each class can be amended by Order in Council, so the Home Secretary can list new drugs and upgrade, downgrade or delist previously controlled drugs with less of the bureaucracy and delay associated with passing an act through both Houses of Parliament.

Critics of the Act such as David Nutt say that its classification is not based on how harmful or addictive the substances are, and that it is unscientific to omit substances like tobacco and alcohol.

Provisions

Section 37 – Interpretation

Section 37(5) became spent on the repeal of sections 8 to 10 of the Pharmacy and Poisons Act 1933. It was repealed by Group 7 of Part 17 of Schedule 1 to the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 2004.

List of controlled drugs

These drugs are known in the UK as controlled drug, because this is the term by which the act itself refers to them. In more general terms, however, many of these drugs are also controlled by the Medicines Act 1968, there are many other drugs which are controlled by the Medicines Act but not by the Misuse of Drugs Act, and some other drugs (alcohol, for example) are controlled by other laws.

The Act sets out four separate categories: Class A, Class B, Class C and temporary class drugs. Substances may be removed and added to different parts of the schedule by statutory instrument, provided a report of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has been commissioned and has reached a conclusion, although the Secretary of State is not bound by the council's findings.

• Class A includes cocaine, heroin, morphine, oxycodone, fentanyl, MDMA ("ecstasy"), methamphetamine, LSD, DMT, mescaline extract, and psilocybin/psilocin (magic mushrooms).
• Class B includes cannabis, ketamine, amphetamine, codeine, methcathinone, barbiturates, mephedrone, methaqualone and methylphenidate. Any class B drug that is prepared for injections becomes a class A substance.
• Class C includes benzodiazepines, pregabalin, and most other non-barbiturate tranquillisers; GHB; tramadol; cathinone; and anabolic steroids.
• All other psychoactive drugs except alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco (or other nicotine preparations) are controlled under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 and Medicines Act 1968.

In reality the potential harm has little bearing on the class, which has led to dissatisfaction with drug laws.

Substances may be removed and added to different parts of the schedule by statutory instrument, provided a report of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has been commissioned and has reached a conclusion, although the Secretary of State is not bound by the council's findings. This list has in practice been modified a great number of times, sometimes removing substances, but more commonly adding some; for example, many benzodiazepines became Class C drugs in 1985, and many cathinones became Class B drugs in 2010.

Class A drugs

1. The following substances, namely:—

(a)

N.B. Sub-paragraphs (b) and (c) were added in 1977, sub-paragraphs (d) and (e) were added in 1986. Sub-paragraph (ba) was subsequently added in 2001.

(b) any compound (not being a compound for the time being specified in sub-paragraph (a) above) structurally derived from tryptamine or from a ring-hydroxy tryptamine by modification in any of the following ways, that is to say—

(i) by substitution at the nitrogen atom of the sidechain to any extent with alkyl or alkenyl substituents, or by inclusion of the nitrogen atom of the side chain (and no other atoms of the side chain) in a cyclic structure;

(ii) by substitution at the carbon atom adjacent to the nitrogen atom of the side chain with alkyl or alkenyl substituents;

(iii) by substitution in the 6-membered ring to any extent with alkyl, alkoxy, haloalkyl, thioalkyl, alkylenedioxy, or halide substituents;

(iv) by substitution at the 2-position of the tryptamine ring system with an alkyl substituent;

(ba) the following phenethylamine derivatives, namely:—

• Allyl(a-methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyphenethyl)amine
• 2-Amino-1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylphenyl)ethanol
• 2-Amino-1-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)ethanol
• Benzyl(a-methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyphenethyl)amine
• 4-Bromo-b,2,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine
• N-(4-sec-Butylthio-2,5-dimethoxyphenethyl)hydroxylamine
• Cyclopropylmethyl(a-methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyphenethyl)amine
• 2-(4,7-Dimethoxy-2,3-dihydro-1H-indan-5-yl)ethylamine
• 2-(4,7-Dimethoxy-2,3-dihydro-1H-indan-5-yl)-1-methylethylamine
• 2-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4-methylphenyl)cyclopropylamine
• 2-(1,4-Dimethoxy-2-naphthyl)ethylamine
• 2-(1,4-Dimethoxy-2-naphthyl)-1-methylethylamine
• N-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4-propylthiophenethyl)hydroxylamine
• 2-(1,4-Dimethoxy-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-2-naphthyl)ethylamine
• 2-(1,4-Dimethoxy-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-2-naphthyl)-1-methylethylamine
• a,a-Dimethyl-3,4-methylenedioxyphenethylamine
• a,a-Dimethyl-3,4-methylenedioxyphenethyl(methyl)amine
• Dimethyl(a-methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyphenethyl)amine
• N-(4-Ethylthio-2,5-dimethoxyphenethyl)hydroxylamine
• 4-Iodo-2,5-dimethoxy-a-methylphenethyl(dimethyl)amine
• 2-(1,4-Methano-5,8-dimethoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-6-naphthyl)ethylamine
• 2-(1,4-Methano-5,8-dimethoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-6-naphthyl)-1-methylethylamine
• 2-(5-Methoxy-2,2-dimethyl-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran-6-yl)-1-methylethylamine
• 2-Methoxyethyl(a-methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyphenethyl)amine
• 2-(5-Methoxy-2-methyl-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran-6-yl)-1-methylethylamine
• b-Methoxy-3,4-methylenedioxyphenethylamine
• 1-(3,4-Methylenedioxybenzyl)butyl(ethyl)amine
• 1-(3,4-Methylenedioxybenzyl)butyl(methyl)amine
• 2-(a-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyphenethylamino)ethanol
• a-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyphenethyl(prop-2-ynyl)amine
• N-Methyl-N-(a-methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyphenethyl)hydroxylamine
• O-Methyl-N-(a-methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyphenethyl)hydroxylamine
• a-Methyl-4-(methylthio)phenethylamine
• b,3,4,5-Tetramethoxyphenethylamine
• b,2,5-Trimethoxy-4-methylphenethylamine

(c) any compound (not being methoxyphenamine or a compound for the time being specified in sub-paragraph (a) above) structurally derived from phenethylamine an N-alkylphenethylamine, a methylphenethylamine, an N-alkyl-α-methylphenethylamine, an ethylphenethylamine, or an N-alkyl-α-ethylphenethylamine by substitution in the ring to any extent with alkyl, alkoxy, alkylenedioxy or halide substituents, whether or not further substituted in the ring by one or more other univalent substituents.

(d) any compound (not being a compound for the time being specified in sub-paragraph (a) above) structurally derived from fentanyl by modification in any of the following ways, that is to say,

(i) by replacement of the phenyl portion of the phenethyl group by any heteromonocycle whether or not further substituted in the heterocycle;

(ii) by substitution in the phenethyl group with alkyl, alkenyl, alkoxy, hydroxy, halogeno, haloalkyl, amino or nitro groups;

(iii) by substitution in the piperidine ring with alkyl or alkenyl groups;

(iv) by substitution in the aniline ring with alkyl, alkoxy, alkylenedioxy, halogeno or haloalkyl groups;

(v) by substitution at the 4-position of the piperidine ring with any alkoxycarbonyl or alkoxyalkyl or acyloxy group;

(vi) by replacement of the N-propionyl group by another acyl group;

(e) any compound (not being a compound for the time being specified in sub-paragraph (a) above) structurally derived from pethidine by modification in any of the following ways, that is to say,

(i) by replacement of the 1-methyl group by an acyl, alkyl whether or not unsaturated, benzyl or phenethyl group, whether or not further substituted;

(ii) by substitution in the piperidine ring with alkyl or alkenyl groups or with a propano bridge, whether or not further substituted;

(iii) by substitution in the 4-phenyl ring with alkyl, alkoxy, aryloxy, halogeno or haloalkyl groups;

(iv) by replacement of the 4-ethoxycarbonyl by any other alkoxycarbonyl or any alkoxyalkyl or acyloxy group;

(v) by formation of an N-oxide or of a quaternary base.

(f) any compound (not being benzyl(α-methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyphenethyl)amine) structurally derived from mescaline, 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxy-α-methylphenethylamine, 2,5-dimethoxy-α,4-dimethylphenethylamine, N-hydroxytenamphetamine (N-hydroxy-MDA), or a compound specified in sub-paragraph (ba) or (c) above, by substitution at the nitrogen atom of the amino group with a benzyl substituent, whether or not substituted in the phenyl ring of the benzyl group to any extent.”.

2. Any stereoisomeric form of a substance for the time being specified in paragraph 1 above not being dextromethorphan or dextrorphan.

3. Any ester or ether of a substance for the time being specified in paragraph 1 or 2 above .

4. Any salt of a substance for the time being specified in any of paragraphs 1 to 3 above.

5. Any preparation or other product containing a substance or product for the time being specified in any of paragraphs 1 to 4 above.

6. Any preparation designed for administration by injection which includes a substance or product for the time being specified in any of paragraphs 1 to 3 of Part II of this Schedule.

Class B drugs

1. The following substances, namely:—

(a)

(aa) Any compound (not being bupropion, cathinone, diethylpropion, pyrovalerone or a compound for the time being specified in sub–paragraph (a) above) structurally derived from 2–amino–1–phenyl–1–propanone by modification in any of the following ways, that is to say,

(i) by substitution in the phenyl ring to any extent with alkyl, alkoxy, alkylenedioxy, haloalkyl or halide substituents, whether or not further substituted in the phenyl ring by one or more other univalent substituents;

(ii) by substitution at the 3–position with an alkyl substituent;

(iii) by substitution at the nitrogen atom with alkyl or dialkyl groups, or by inclusion of the nitrogen atom in a cyclic structure

(ab) Any compound structurally derived from 2–aminopropan–1–one by substitution at the 1-position with any monocyclic, or fused‑polycyclic ring system (not being a phenyl ring or alkylenedioxyphenyl ring system), whether or not the compound is further modified in any of the following ways, that is to say,

(i) by substitution in the ring system to any extent with alkyl, alkoxy, haloalkyl or halide substituents, whether or not further substituted in the ring system by one or more other univalent substituents;

(ii) by substitution at the 3–position with an alkyl substituent;

(iii) by substitution at the 2‑amino nitrogen atom with alkyl or dialkyl groups, or by inclusion of the 2‑amino nitrogen atom in a cyclic structure

(b) any 5,5 disubstituted barbituric acid

(c) –1,4–benzoxazin–6–yl]–1–naphthalenylmethanone. (WIN 55,212-2)

3–Dimethylheptyl–11–hydroxyhexahydrocannabinol.

oxy–5, 6, 6a, 7, 8, 9, 10, 10a–octahydrophenanthridin–1–yl] acetate.

9-(Hydroxymethyl)–6, 6–dimethyl–3–(2–methyloctan–2–yl)–6a, 7, 10, 10a–tetrahydrobenzochromen–1–ol.

–1,4–benzoxazin–6–yl]–1–naphthalenylmethanone.

Any compound structurally derived from 3–(1–naphthoyl)indole or 1H–indol–3–yl–(1–naphthyl)methane by substitution at the nitrogen atom of the indole ring by alkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkylmethyl, cycloalkylethyl or 2–(4–morpholinyl)ethyl, whether or not further substituted in the indole ring to any extent and whether or not substituted in the naphthyl ring to any extent.

Any compound structurally derived from 3–(1–naphthoyl)pyrrole by substitution at the nitrogen atom of the pyrrole ring by alkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkylmethyl, cycloalkylethyl or 2–(4–morpholinyl)ethyl, whether or not further substituted in the pyrrole ring to any extent and whether or not substituted in the naphthyl ring to any extent.

Any compound structurally derived from 1–(1–naphthylmethyl)indene by substitution at the 3–position of the indene ring by alkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkylmethyl, cycloalkylethyl or 2–(4–morpholinyl)ethyl, whether or not further substituted in the indene ring to any extent and whether or not substituted in the naphthyl ring to any extent.

Nabilone

Any compound structurally derived from 3–phenylacetylindole by substitution at the nitrogen atom of the indole ring with alkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkylmethyl, cycloalkylethyl or 2–(4–morpholinyl)ethyl, whether or not further substituted in the indole ring to any extent and whether or not substituted in the phenyl ring to any extent.

Any compound structurally derived from 2–(3–hydroxycyclohexyl)phenol by substitution at the 5–position of the phenolic ring by alkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkylmethyl, cycloalkylethyl or 2–(4–morpholinyl)ethyl, whether or not further substituted in the cyclohexyl ring to any extent.";

Any compound structurally derived from 3-benzoylindole by substitution at the nitrogen atom of the indole ring by alkyl, haloalkyl, alkenyl, cyanoalkyl, hydroxyalkyl, cycloalkylmethyl, cycloalkylethyl, (N-methylpiperidin-2-yl)methyl or 2–(4–morpholinyl)ethyl, whether or not further substituted in the indole ring to any extent and whether or not substituted in the phenyl ring to any extent.

Any compound structurally derived from 3-(1-adamantoyl)indole or 3-(2-adamantoyl)indole by substitution at the nitrogen atom of the indole ring by alkyl, haloalkyl, alkenyl, cyanoalkyl, hydroxyalkyl, cycloalkylmethyl, cycloalkylethyl, (N-methylpiperidin-2-yl)methyl or 2–(4–morpholinyl)ethyl, whether or not further substituted in the indole ring to any extent and whether or not substituted in the adamantyl ring to any extent.

Any compound structurally derived from 3-(2,2,3,3-tetramethylcyclopropylcarbonyl)indole by substitution at the nitrogen atom of the indole ring by alkyl, haloalkyl, alkenyl, cyanoalkyl, hydroxyalkyl, cycloalkylmethyl, cycloalkylethyl, (N-methylpiperidin-2-yl)methyl or 2–(4–morpholinyl)ethyl, whether or not further substituted in the indole ring to any extent.

(ca) any compound (not being clonitazene, etonitazene, acemetacin, atorvastatin, bazedoxifene, indometacin, losartan, olmesartan, proglumetacin, telmisartan, viminol, zafirlukast or a compound for the time being specified in sub-paragraph (c) above) structurally related to 1-pentyl-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole (JWH-018), in that the four sub-structures, that is to say the indole ring, the pentyl substituent, the methanone linking group and the naphthyl ring, are linked together in a similar manner, whether or not any of the sub-structures have been modified, and whether or not substituted in any of the linked sub-structures with one or more univalent substituents and, where any of the sub-structures have been modified, the modifications of the sub-structures are limited to any of the following, that is to say—

(i) replacement of the indole ring with indane, indene, indazole, pyrrole, pyrazole, imidazole, benzimidazole, pyrrolopyridine, pyrrolopyridine or pyrazolopyridine;

(ii) replacement of the pentyl substituent with alkyl, alkenyl, benzyl, cycloalkylmethyl, cycloalkylethyl, (N-methylpiperidin-2-yl)methyl, 2-(4-morpholinyl)ethyl or (tetrahydropyran-4-yl)methyl;

(iii) replacement of the methanone linking group with an ethanone, carboxamide, carboxylate, methylene bridge or methine group;

(iv) replacement of the 1-naphthyl ring with 2-naphthyl, phenyl, benzyl, adamantyl, cycloalkyl, cycloalkylmethyl, cycloalkylethyl, bicycloheptanyl, 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthyl, quinolinyl, isoquinolinyl, 1-amino-1-oxopropan-2-yl, 1‑hydroxy-1-oxopropan-2-yl, piperidinyl, morpholinyl, pyrrolidinyl, tetrahydropyranyl or piperazinyl.

(d) 1-Phenylcyclohexylamine or any compound (not being ketamine, tiletamine or a compound for the time being specified in paragraph 1(a) of Part 1 of this Schedule) structurally derived from 1-phenylcyclohexylamine or 2-amino-2-phenylcyclohexanone by modification in any of the following ways, that is to say,

(i) by substitution at the nitrogen atom to any extent by alkyl, alkenyl or hydroxyalkyl groups, or replacement of the amino group with a 1-piperidyl, 1-pyrrolidyl or 1-azepyl group, whether or not the nitrogen containing ring is further substituted by one or more alkyl groups;

(ii) by substitution in the phenyl ring to any extent by amino, alkyl, hydroxy, alkoxy or halide substituents, whether or not further substituted in the phenyl ring to any extent;

(iii) by substitution in the cyclohexyl or cyclohexanone ring by one or more alkyl substituents;

(iv) by replacement of the phenyl ring with a thienyl ring.

(e) Any compound (not being a compound for the time being specified in paragraph 1(ba) of Part 1 of this Schedule) structurally derived from 1-benzofuran, 2,3-dihydro-1-benzofuran, 1H-indole, indoline, 1H-indene, or indane by substitution in the 6-membered ring with a 2-ethylamino substituent whether or not further substituted in the ring system to any extent with alkyl, alkoxy, halide or haloalkyl substituents and whether or not substituted in the ethylamino side-chain with one or more alkyl substituents.

2. Any stereoisomeric form of a substance for the time being specified in paragraph 1 of this Part of this Schedule.

3. Any salt of a substance for the time being specified in paragraph 1 or 2 of this Part of this Schedule.

4. Any preparation or other product containing a substance or product for the time being specified in any of paragraphs 1 to 3 of this Part of this Schedule, not being a preparation falling within paragraph 6 of Part I of this Schedule.

Class C drugs

1. Class C drugs, supposedly the least harmful drugs, include the following substances:—

(a)

N.B. Sub-paragraphs (b), (c), (d) and (e) all refer to anabolic steroids that were banned in 1996 (unless referenced otherwise):

(b)

• 4-Androstene-3,17-dione
• 5-Androstene-3,17-diol
• Atamestane
• Bolandiol
• Bolasterone
• Bolazine
• Boldenone
• Bolenol
• Bolmantalate
• Calusterone
• 4-Chloromethandienone
• Clostebol
• Desoxymethyltestosterone
• Dienedione
• Drostanolone
• Enestebol
• Epitiostanol
• Ethyloestrenol
• Fluoxymesterone
• Formebolone
• Furazabol
• Mebolazine
• Mepitiostane
• Mesabolone
• Mestanolone
• Mesterolone
• Methandienone
• Methandriol
• Methenolone
• Methyltestosterone
• Metribolone
• Mibolerone
• Nandrolone
• 19-Nor-4-Androstene-3,17-dione
• 19-Nor-5-Androstene-3,17-diol
• Norboletone
• Norclostebol
• Norethandrolone
• Ovandrotone
• Oxabolone
• Oxandrolone
• Oxymesterone
• Oxymetholone
• Prasterone
• Propetandrol
• Quinbolone
• Roxibolone
• Silandrone
• Stanolone
• Stanozolol
• Stenbolone
• Testosterone
• Thiomesterone
• Trenbolone

(c) any compound (not being Trilostane or a compound for the time being specified in sub-paragraph (b) above) structurally derived from 17-hydroxyandrostan-3-one or from 17-hydroxyestran-3-one by modification in any of the following ways, that is to say, (i) by further substitution at position 17 by a methyl or ethyl group; (ii) by substitution to any extent at one or more of positions 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11 or 16, but at no other position; (iii) by unsaturation in the carbocyclic ring system to any extent, provided that there are no more than two ethylenic bonds in any one carbocyclic ring; (iv) by fusion of ring A with a heterocyclic system;

(d) any substance which is an ester or ether (or, where more than one hydroxyl function is available, both an ester and an ether) of a substance specified in sub-paragraph (b) or described in sub-paragraph (c) above;

(e)

• Chorionic gonadotropin
• Clenbuterol
• Non-human chorionic gonadotrophin
• Somatotropin
• Somatrem
• Somatropin

(f) 1–benzylpiperazine or any compound (not being 1–(3–chlorophenyl)piperazine or 1–(3–chlorophenyl)–4–(3–chloropropyl)piperazine) structurally derived from 1–benzylpiperazine or 1–phenylpiperazine by modification in any of the following ways

(i) by substitution at the second nitrogen atom of the piperazine ring with alkyl, benzyl, haloalkyl or phenyl groups;

(ii) by substitution in the aromatic ring to any extent with alkyl, alkoxy, alkylenedioxy, halide or haloalkyl groups;

2. Any stereoisomeric form of a substance for the time being specified in paragraph 1 of this Part of this Schedule

3. Any salt of a substance for the time being specified in paragraph 1 or 2 of this Part of this Schedule.

4. Any preparation or other product containing a substance for the time being specified in any of paragraphs 1 to 3 of this Part of this Schedule.

Derivatives and analogues

The act contains several references to "derivatives" of compounds but the extent of this term is not fully clarified. Where unspecified it is thought to indicate derivatives which can be made from the specified compound in a single synthetic step, although such a definition would indicate that alkyllysergamide analogues would be uncontrolled. Where the derivatives are specified to be "structural derivatives" there is precedent that the statute applies whenever the structure could be converted to the specified derivatives in any number of synthetic steps.

Penalties

The penalties for drug offences depend on the class of drug involved. These penalties are enforced against those who do not have a valid prescription or licence to possess the drug in question. Thus, it is not illegal for someone to possess heroin, a Class A drug, so long as it was administered to them legally (by prescription).

Class A drugs attract the highest penalty, and imprisonment is both "proper and expedient". The maximum penalties possible are as follows:

International cooperation

The act makes it a crime to assist in, incite, or induce, the commission of an offence, outside the UK, against another nation's corresponding law on drugs. A corresponding law is defined as another country's law "providing for the control and regulation in that country of the production, supply, use, export and import of drugs and other substances in accordance with the provisions of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs" or another drug control treaty to which the UK and the other country are parties. An example might be lending money to a United States drug dealer for the purpose of violating that country's Controlled Substances Act.

History

The Drugs (Prevention of Misuse) Act 1964 controlled amphetamines in the United Kingdom in advance of international agreements and was later used to control LSD.

Before 1971, the UK had a relatively liberal drugs policy and it was not until United Nations influence had been brought to bear that controlling incidental drug activities was employed to effectively criminalise drugs use. It is noted that bar the smoking of opium and cannabis; Section 8, part d, under the 1971 Act was not an offence (relating to the prosecution of the owner of a premises/building inside of which controlled drugs were being used). Section 8 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 was amended by Regulation 13 of Misuse of Drugs Regulations 1985 and Section 38 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001. These amendments were however repealed in 2005 by Schedule 1 (part 6) of the Drugs Act 2005,.

The Current Section 8 covers: people knowingly allowing premises they own, manage, or have responsibility for, to be used by any other person for:

• administration or use of any controlled drug
• supply of any controlled drug
• the production or cultivation of controlled drugs, (such as growing cannabis, making crystal meth, preparing magic mushrooms).

Criticism and controversy

Notable criticism of the act includes:

• Drug classification: making a hash of it?, Fifth Report of Session 2005–06, House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, which said that the present system of drug classification is based on historical assumptions, not scientific assessment.
• Development of a rational scale to assess the harm of drugs of potential misuse, David Nutt, Leslie A. King, William Saulsbury, Colin Blakemore, The Lancet, 24 March 2007, said the act is "not fit for purpose" and "the exclusion of alcohol and tobacco from the Misuse of Drugs Act is, from a scientific perspective, arbitrary."

The Transform Drug Policy Foundation offers rational criticism of the harms caused by the Government's current prohibitionist drug policy. The Drug Equality Alliance (DEA) has launched legal actions against the UK Government's partial and unequal administration of the Act's discretionary powers, making particular reference to the arbitrary exclusion of alcohol and tobacco on the subjective grounds of historical and cultural precedents contrary to the Act's policy and objects.

Classification of cannabis has become especially controversial. In 2004, cannabis was reclassified from class B to class C, in accordance with advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). In 2009, it was returned to class B, against ACMD advice.

In February 2009 the UK government was accused by its most senior expert drugs adviser Professor David Nutt of making a political decisions with regard to drug classification in rejecting the scientific advice to downgrade ecstasy from a class A drug. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) report on ecstasy, based on a 12-month study of 4,000 academic papers, concluded that it is nowhere near as dangerous as other class A drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine, and should be downgraded to class B. The advice was not followed. Jacqui Smith, then Home Secretary, was also widely criticised by the scientific community for bullying Professor David Nutt into apologising for his comments that, in the course of a normal year, more people died from falling off horses than died from taking ecstasy. Professor Nutt was later sacked by Alan Johnson (Jacqui Smith's successor as Home Secretary); Johnson saying "It is important that the government's messages on drugs are clear and as an advisor you do nothing to undermine public understanding of them. I cannot have public confusion between scientific advice and policy and have therefore lost confidence in your ability to advise me as Chair of the ACMD."

In May 2011, a report named Taking Drugs Seriously was released by Demos. It discusses several issues with the current system, since its enactment in 1971. It states that the constant presence of new drugs will make it difficult for the government to keep up with the latest situation - over 600 drugs are now classified under the act. Comparison levels of harm previously demonstrated by David Nutt show that alcohol and tobacco were among the most lethal, while some class A drugs, such as MDMA, LSD, and magic mushrooms, were among the least harmful.

Use of controlled substances for research

A common misunderstanding amongst researchers is that most national laws (including the Misuse for Drugs Act) allows the use of small amounts of a controlled substance for non-clinical / non-in vivo research without licences. A typical use case might be having a few milligrams or microlitres of a controlled substance within larger chemical collections (often tens of thousands of chemicals) for in vitro screening. Researchers often believe that there is some form of "research exemption" for such small amounts. This incorrect view may be further re-enforced by R&D chemical suppliers often stating and asking scientists to confirm that anything bought is for research use only.

A further misconception is that the Misuse of Drugs Act simply lists a few hundred substances (e.g. MDMA, Fentanyl, Amphetamine, etc.) and compliance can be achieved via checking a CAS number, chemical name or similar identifier. However, the reality is that in most cases all ethers, esters, salts and stereo isomers are also controlled and it is impossible to simply list all of these. The act contains several "generic statements" or "chemical space" laws, which aim to control all chemicals similar to the "named" substance, these provide detailed descriptions similar to Markushes, a good example of a few of these are found in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (amendment) order 2013.

Due to this complexity in legislation the identification of controlled chemicals in research is often carried out computationally, either by in house systems maintained a company's sample logistics department or by the use commercial software solutions. Automated systems are often required as many research operations can often have chemical collections running into 10Ks of molecules at the 1–5 mg scale, which are likely to include controlled substances, especially within medicinal chemistry research, even if the core research of the company is not narcotic or psychotropic drugs. These may not have been controlled when created, but they have subsequently been declared controlled, or fall within chemical space close to known controlled substances.

There are no specific research exemptions in the Misuse of Drugs Act. However, the associated Misuse of Drug Regulations 2001 does exempt products containing less than 1 mg of a controlled substance (1 μg for lysergide and derivatives) so long as a number of requirements are met, including that it cannot be recovered by readily applicable means, does not pose a risk to human health and is not meant for administration to a human or animal.

Although this does at first seem to allow research use, in most circumstances the sample, by definition, is "recoverable" - in order to prepare it for use the sample is "recovered" into an assay buffer or solvent such as DMSO or water. In 2017 the Home Office also confirmed that the 1 mg limit applies to the total of all preparations across the entire container in the case of sample microtitre plates. Given this, most companies and researchers choose not to rely on this exemption.

However according to Home Office licensing, "University research departments generally do not require licences to possess and supply drugs in schedules 2, 3, 4 part I, 4 part II and schedule 5, but they do require licences to produce any of those drugs and to produce, possess and/or supply drugs in schedule 1".

See also

• Dangerous Drugs (Supply to Addicts) Regulations 1968
• Cannabis in the United Kingdom
• Controlled Drug in the United Kingdom
• Temporary class drug
• Drug policy of the United Kingdom
• Drug-related deaths in the United Kingdom

Notes

1. Plants containing mescaline not illegal, only an extract of the substance.

References

 This article incorporates text published under the British Open Government Licence v3.0: To maintain the accuracy of the article, some of the text is copied directly from the legislation.

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External links

• The full text of Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 at Wikisource
• Category:Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 at Wikinews
• The text of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 – Office of Public Sector Information
• Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 as amended
• UK Misuse of Drugs Act, Steve Chapman website
• Controlled Drugs, Patient UK website
• Schedules and structures Archived 7 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 – Isomer Design

• Misuse of Drugs Act 1971
• United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1971
• English criminal law
• 1971 in cannabis