Drugs & UK Law

There are two main statutes regulating the availability of drugs in the UK: the Misuse of Drugs Act, and the Medicines Act.

The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 is intended to prevent the non-medical use of certain drugs. For this reason it controls not just medicinal drugs (which will also be in the Medicines Act) but also drugs with no current medical uses. Offences under this Act overwhelmingly involve the general public, and even when the same drug and a similar offence are involved, penalties are far tougher. Drugs subject to this Act are known as 'controlled' drugs. The law defines a series of offences, including unlawful supply, intent to supply, import or export (all these are collectively known as 'trafficking' offences), and unlawful production. The main difference from the Medicines Act is that the Misuse of Drugs Act also prohibits unlawful possession. To enforce this law the police have the special powers to stop, detain and search people on 'reasonable suspicion' that they are in possession of a controlled drug. ?The laws controlling drug use are complicated. The Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA) regulates what are termed controlled drugs.

It divides drugs into three classes as follows:
Class A: These include cocaine and crack (a form of cocaine), ecstasy, heroin, LSD, methadone, methamphetamine (crystal meth), processed magic mushrooms and any Class B drug which is injected.

Class B: These include amphetamine (not methamphetamine), barbiturates, and codeine.

Class C: These include mild amphetamines, anabolic steroids and minor tranquillizers and cannabis (in resin, oil or herbal form)

Class A drugs are treated by the law as the most dangerous.

Offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act can include:

• Possession of a controlled drug.
• Possession with intent to supply another person.
• Production, cultivation or manufacture of controlled drugs.
• Supplying another person with a controlled drug.
• Offering to supply another person with a controlled drug.
• Import or export of controlled drugs.

N.B..Certain controlled drugs such as amphetamines, barbiturates, methadone, and minor tranquillizers and occasionally heroin can be obtained through a legitimate doctor's prescription. In such cases their possession is not illegal.
The law is even more complicated by the fact that some drugs are covered by other laws, are not covered at all or treated in an exceptional way under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Alcohol is not illegal for an over 5 year old to consume away from licensed premises. It is an offence for a vendor to knowingly sell to an under 18 year old. A 14 year old can go into a pub alone but not consume alcohol. A 16 year old can buy and consume beer, port, cider or perry (but not spirits) in a pub if having a meal in an area set aside for this purpose. In some areas there are by laws restricting drinking of alcohol on the streets at any age. Police also have powers to confiscate alcohol from under 18s who drink in public places.

GHB (gammahydroxybutyrate)is a colorless, odourless liquid which comes in a small bottle and has sedative and euphoric effects. It is controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act so possession is an offence.

Ketamine usually comes as a powder. The initial rush is usually followed by feelings of dissociation and an anesthetic type experience. It is commonly used as an animal tranquillizer and for surgery on animals. As of January 1st 2006 Ketamine is a class C Drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

Khat is a plant that is grown in eastern Africa and the Arabian peninsula. Chewing the leaves has a stimulant effect. Some Khat is imported to the UK and sold in greengrocers, specialist health food shops and some ‘head' shops. The Khat plant (the main form in which khat is sold) is not covered under the Misuse of Drugs Act and possession or supply is not an offence.

Magic mushrooms On July 18 2005 these became Class A drugs under the Drugs Act 2005. The law is expected to be tested in court by a number of magic mushroom suppliers.

Poppers liquid gold, amyl or butyl nitrite) are not covered by the MDA and are not illegal to possess or buy. They are often sold in joke and sex shops but also in some pubs, clubs, tobacconists and sometimes music or clothes shops used by young people. Though not fully tested in court, the Medicines Control Agency has stated that poppers is regarded by them as a medicine and so falls under the Medicines Act 1968. This allows only licensed outlets, such as chemists, to sell the drug.

Solvents (aerosols, gases, glues etc.) are not illegal to possess, use or buy at any age. In England and Wales it is an offence for a shopkeeper to sell them to an under 18 year old if they know they are to be used for intoxicating purposes. The Government has extended this legislation to make it illegal for shopkeepers to sell lighter fuel (butane) to under 18s whether or not they know it will be used for intoxicating purposes. This law came into force on 1st Oct 1999, although it was not an ‘extension' to the Intoxicating Substances Supply Act, but an amendment to the Consumer Protection Act.

Steroids are controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act as class C drugs but their legal status is complicated. In most situations the possession offence is waived meaning that people who possess or use steroids without a prescription are unlikely to be prosecuted. However, in some areas of the UK police have successfully prosecuted people for possession of steroids when the steroids have not been in the form of a medicinal product. It is always an offence to sell or supply steroids to another person. People can also be prosecuted for possession with intent to supply if they have large quantities of steroids without a prescription for them.

Tobacco It is not an offence for people of any age to purchase or use cigarettes or other tobacco products. It is an offence for a vendor to sell tobacco products to someone they know to be under 16 years old. Police also have powers to confiscate tobacco products from under 16s who are smoking in public places.

Minor Tranquilizers (Librium, valium etc) are controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act as Class C drugs but the possession offence is waived so that it is not illegal to possess or use them without a prescription. It is an offence to sell or supply them to another person. The exception is temazepam and rohypnol tranquillisers, which are illegal to be in possession of without a prescription.


Maximum penalties under the Misuse of Drugs Act are as follows:

Drug class	Possession	Supply
Class A	7 years + fine	Life + fine
Class B	5 years + fine	14 years + fine
Class C	2 years + fine	14 years + fine

What happens to people who commit drug offences varies in different parts of the UK? Police forces in some areas are more likely to caution than in other areas. Some local police forces are more likely than others to charge people and take them to court. What happens in courts also varies. Some courts are more likely to give out custodial sentences or large fines than others.

Section 8 Amendment
In 2001, the Government passed an amendment to Section 8 of the Misuse of Drugs Act to cover the use or administering of a controlled drug. The new amendment makes it a criminal offence for people to knowingly allow premises they own, manage, or have responsibility for, to be used by any other person for:

• Administration or use of any controlled drugs, which is unlawfully in that person's possession (this is not yet fully enacted. The Home Office will issue detailed guidance when the amendment is enacted)
• Supply of any controlled drug
• The production or cultivation of controlled drugs, such as growing cannabis

Professionals can be prosecuted if they knowingly allow any of these things to occur on work premises. The same legal obligations apply to people with regard to their own homes.
The law requires that if staff becomes aware of the use or supply of illicit drugs on their premises, they must take reasonable action to prevent this continuing.

Penalties
Maximum sentences differ according to the nature of the offence - less for possession; more for trafficking, production, or for allowing premises to be used for producing or supplying drugs. ?They also vary according to how harmful the drug is thought to be. Class A has the highest penalties (seven years and/or unlimited fine for possession; life and/or fine for production or trafficking). This class includes the more potent of the opioid painkillers, hallucinogens, such as LSD and ecstasy, and cocaine. Class B has lower maximum penalties for possession (five years and/or fine) and includes less potent opioids, strong synthetic stimulants, and sedatives. Class C has the lowest penalties (two years and/or fine for possession; fourteen years and/or fine for trafficking) and includes cannabis, tranquillizers, some less potent stimulants, and dextropropoxyphene, a mild opioid analgesic. Any Class B drug prepared for injection counts as Class A. Less serious offences are usually dealt with by magistrates' courts, where sentences can't exceed six months and/or £5,000 fine, or three months and/or fine for less serious offences. Eighty five per cent of all drug offenders are convicted of unlawful possession. Although maximum penalties are severe, just over 20 per cent of offenders receive a custodial sentence (even fewer actually go to prison), and nearly 3/4 of fines are £50 or less. Cannabis possession for personal use is often receives a caution or in some places a warning and confiscation of the drug.

Regulations
Most controlled drugs have medical uses, others may be of scientific interest, so the Act allows the government to authorise?possession, supply, production and import or export of drugs to meet medical or scientific needs. These exemptions to the general prohibitions are in the form of 'regulations' made under the Act.

List of drugs currently controlled under the Misuse of Drugs legislation (as of July 2006)

Other Drug Laws

The Medicines Act 1968
This law governs the manufacture and supply of medicine. It divides medical drugs into three categories. 1. Prescription only medicines are the most restricted. They can only be sold or supplied by a pharmacist if supplied by a doctor. 2. Only a pharmacist can sell without a prescription but pharmacy medicines. 3. Any shop, not just a pharmacy, can sell General Sales List medicines. However, even here advertising, labeling and production restrictions apply.

The enforcement of the Medicines Act rarely affects the general public.

Customs and Excise Management Act 1979
Together with the Misuses of Drugs Act, the Customs and Excise Act penalizes unauthorized import or export of controlled drugs. The maximum penalties are the same as for other trafficking offences except that in a magistrate's court fines can reach up to three times the value of the drugs seized.

Road Traffic Act 1972
It is an offence to be in charge of a motor vehicle while ‘unfit to drive through drink or drugs'. The drugs can include illegal drugs, prescribed medicines or solvents.

Drug Trafficking Act 1994
It is an offence to sell articles for the preparation or administration of controlled drugs – such as cocaine snorting kits. The Act also allows for the seizure of assets and income of someone who is found guilty of drug trafficking, even if the assets and income cannot be shown to have come from the proceeds of drug trafficking.

Crime and Disorder Act 1998
This new Act introduces, for the first time, enforceable drug treatment and testing orders, for people convicted of crimes committed in order to maintain their drug use. 

The source of above information is with the permission of DrugScope. For the direct link to this source click on: http://www.drugscope.org.uk/resources/drugsearch/drugsearchpages/laws.htm