Psychoactive Substances Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2016-01-20
Topic: Law and Crime
Natascha Engel (Labour, Centre-left): With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: New clause 3—Control of cannabis— ‘(1) Within six months of the passing of this Act, the Secretary of State shall consult the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs pursuant to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 with regard to the use of her powers to make regulations under sections 7, 10, 22 and 31 of that Act to— (a) delete from Schedule 1 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 the substances listed in subsection (2), and (b) add those substances to Schedule 2 to the 2001 Regulations (2) The substances referred to in subsection (1) are— (a) cannabis, and (b) cannabis resin." The intention of this amendment is to re-schedule Cannabis from a Schedule 1 drug to a Schedule 2 drug for the purposes of promoting research into its medical use. New clause 4—Referral to Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs— ‘(1) The Ministers shall refer to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) any substance which is, or may be, a psychoactive substance (2) The ACMD shall advise the Ministers whether the substance is, or appears to the ACMD likely to be, misused and of which the misuse is having, or appears to the ACMD to be capable of having, harmful effects sufficient to constitute a social problem (3) For the purposes of this section, "the Ministers" has the same meaning as in section 1(4) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs)." New clause 5—Review of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971— ‘(1) The Secretary of State shall commission an independent evidence-based review of— (a) the effectiveness of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in reducing the harm caused by the misuse of drugs, including social problems connected with their misuse, and (b) the implementation of the Act (2) The Secretary of State shall lay a copy of a report of the review before both Houses of Parliament within one year of the passing of this Act." New clause 6—Possession of controlled drugs— ‘(1) The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 is amended as follows (2) Omit section 5(1) and (2) (3) After section 5 insert— "5A Measures in respect of possession of controlled drugs for personal use (1) Where a person is detained on suspicion of having committed an arrestable offence and is found to be in possession of a controlled drug, falling within Schedule 2 (Class A drugs) in circumstances which do not constitute an offence under section 3 (restriction of importation and exportation of controlled drugs) or section 4 (restriction of production and supply of controlled drugs), a senior officer or a local authority may require the person to attend a drug treatment programme or drug awareness programme. (2) The Secretary of State shall by regulations define "drug treatment programme" and "drug awareness programme" for the purposes of this Act (3) Regulations made under this section must be made by statutory instrument (4) A statutory instrument under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by resolution of, both Houses of Parliament."" Amendment 23, in clause 1, page 1, line 3, after "about" insert "reviewing the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and" Amendment 24, page 1, line 11, at end insert— ‘(6A) Section [Control of Cannabis] provides for legal possession and supply of cannabis prescribed by a doctor." Amendment 18, in clause 2, page 1, line 14, after "any" insert "novel" Amendment 19, page 1, line 15, leave out paragraph (a) and insert— "(a) in the opinion of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs is capable of producing a psychoactive effect in a person who consumes it, and (aa) is, or appears to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs likely to be, misused and of which the misuse is having, or appears to them capable of having, harmful effects sufficient to constitute a social problem, and" Amendment 12, page 1, line 16, leave out "and" and insert— "(aa) is not prohibited by the United Nations Drug Conventions of 1961 and 1971, or by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, but which may pose a public health threat comparable to that posed by substances listed in these conventions, and" This amendment to the definition includes part of the alternative definition of psychoactive substances proposed to the Home Affairs Select Committee by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. Amendment 20, in clause 3, page 2, line 12, at end insert— ‘(2A) The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs shall propose to the Secretary of State the amendment of Schedule 1 for the purposes of subsection (2)(a) if they consider that a substance does not have, or is not capable of having, harmful effects sufficient to constitute a social problem." Amendment 21, in clause 5, page 3, line 9, at end insert— ‘(2A) It shall be a defence that the person did not supply the substance for gain (whether direct or indirect)." Amendment 13, page 3, line 15, at end insert— ‘(5) It is not an offence under this section for a person ("A") to supply a psychoactive substance to person ("B"), where A and B are known to each other and such supply is part of an agreement to obtain psychoactive substances for either A’s, B’s or both’s own consumption and the supply does not profit person A." This amendment avoids one person being criminalised when, as part of a group, he is responsible for obtaining psychoactive substances for the group where, in effect, each person in the group is purchasing for their own consumption. Amendment 14, in clause 8, page 4, line 38, leave out paragraph (i) This amendment seeks to exclude from criminalisation those who order psychoactive substances over the internet for personal consumption. Amendment 22, page 5, line 19, at end insert— ‘(5A) It shall be a defence that the person imported the substance for his own consumption." Amendment 15, in clause 10, page 6, line 22, at end insert— ‘(3) In sentencing, the court shall take account of the relative harm associated with the psychoactive substance that was the subject of the offence." This amendment seeks to ensure that sentencing is commensurate with the potential harm done by the substance involved. Amendment 4, in clause 58, page 36, line 25, at end insert— ‘(2A) The report must inform Parliament on progress made in improving education and awareness about new psychoactive substances." This amendment requires the Secretary of State to include a section on progress in NPS education in their statutory review. Amendment 25, in schedule 1, page 40, line 5, at end insert "except to the extent necessary to give effect to section (Possession of controlled drugs)." Amendment 1, page 41, line 12, at end insert— "Racetams 8 Pramiracetam 9 Oxiracetam 10 N-phenylacetyl-L-prolylglycine ethyl ester 11 Phenylpiracetam 12 Nefiracetam Cholinergics 13 L-Alpha glycerylphosphorylcholine 14 Citicoline 15 Meclofenoxate Miscellaneous 16 L-Theanine 17 Oxitriptan 18 Tongkat Ali 19 Resveratol 20 Trans-resveratol 21 Sulbutiamine" This amendment exempts a number of substances from scope of the regulation regime introduced in the Psychoactive Substances Bill. The substances in this amendment are commonly used to improve individuals’ cognitive performance and have been found to have positive effects in a number of academic studies. Amendment 5, page 41, line 12, at end insert— "Miscellaneous 8 Alkyl nitrites" This would exempt "poppers" from the Bill, as recommended by the Home Affairs Select Committee. Government amendment 10.