No C 159/58 Official Journal of the European Communities 17. 6. 91 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive on the manufacture and the placing on the 
market of certain substances used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic 
substances (!) 
(91/C 159/18) 
On 17 January 1991 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, 
under Article 100a of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the 
abovementioned proposal. 
The Section for Protection of the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Affairs, which 
was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 
2 April 1991. The Rapporteur was Mr Proumens. 
At its 286th plenary session (meeting of 25 April 1991), the Economic and Social Committee 
adopted the following Opinion by a majority vote, with one abstention. 
The Committee approves the proposal only with strong 
reservations. 
It considers that, while the measures may be calculated 
to improve the monitoring of traffic in illicit drugs, the 
provisions are not in themselves sufficient to stamp out 
drug trafficking. 
In the Committee's view, and particularly in the light 
of some of the points discussed below, these provisions 
should form part of a wider strategy if they are to 
represent more than just a token gesture. 
If should be noted that further international nego­
tiations are currently being held in the United States. 
With the participation inter alia of the European Com­
munity, the list of substances will be extended. 
The changes are important both for the fight against 
drugs and because they will improve the international 
balance of chemical manufacturers. 
1. Gist of the Proposal 
1.1. The proposal covers 'precursor' chemicals. The­
se are substances which, while not illicit per se, are 
diverted from their normal use for the illicit manufac­
ture of drugs. 
1.2. The proposal meets a requirement laid down 
in the 1988 United Nations Convention against illicit 
trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic sub­
stances. 
1.3. It also complements the Council Regulation on 
the monitoring of foreign trade in precursors (2). 
1.4. The substances concerned fall into two catego­
ries: 
(') OJNoCll, 21. 1. 1991, p. 17. 
(2) OJ No L 357, 20. 12. 1990. — substances of limited licit use (Table I of the Annex), 
— substances of essential importance for legitimate 
commercial use (Table II of the Annex). 
1.5. The monitoring of precursors has the support 
of the European Committee for the fight against drugs. 
1.6. The proposal requires that records be kept of 
all transactions in the scheduled substances (Table I), 
with details of sales to firms holding a pharmaceutical 
authorization. The same information is required for 
transactions in the substances listed in Table II if the 
quantities involved exceed those indicated in Table III. 
2. General Comments 
2.1. The proposal is also to apply to preparations 
containing the scheduled substances. 
This will be difficult to implement because normal 
trade in these preparations, other than those to be used 
in the pharmaceuticals industry, may not be of concern 
to 'operators' as defined in Article 1(2) (c). 
2.2. The definition of 'scheduled substances' speci­
fies that they 'cannot be easily used for recovered by 
readily applicable means'. 
The Committee wonders how thoroughly the Com­
mission investigated the question of preparations and 
the possible elimination of other of their components 
before arriving at the present list of scheduled sub­
stances. 
17. 6. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 159/59 
Furthermore, the Commission does not define 'easily 
applicable means'. 
2.3. The Committee wonders whether the amounts 
listed in Table III are realistic, particularly in the case 
of acetone, ethyl ether and acetic anhydride. 
These substances are widely used, often in large quantit­
ies. A threshold of one litre seems highly impractical. 
The Commission in any case intends to amend Table III 
in the light of information provided by the European 
chemicals industry. 
2.4. The Commission appears not to intend to oblige 
retailers such as pharmacies, hardware stores and cos­
metic shops to keep registers; they will be monitored 
via their wholesalers or manufacturer-suppliers. 
2.5. The Committee fully approves the provisions 
on notification (Article 5), designed to protect people 
who report suspected or definite cases of trafficking. 
However, the Committee considers that the reference 
to information obtained 'by virtue of their professional 
activities' should be extended by insertion of the words 
'for example'. 
People outside the company may also hear of traffick­
ing, and they should be accorded the same protection 
as employees. 
Of course, improper and/or false accusations should be 
punished by the Member States' relevant authorities. 
2.6. The Committee wonders how much freedom, 
and under what criteria, Member State authorities are 
to be allowed to prohibit the marketing or manufacture 
of scheduled substances, particularly those contained 
in a preparation, in accordance with Article 6(2). 
2.7. Article 8 requires Member States to determine 
what sanctions to apply. However, the sanctions only 
cover infringement of the provisions of the Directive, 
i.e. the keeping of registers. 
The Commission should induce the Member States to 
apply a graduated scale of sanctions, distinguishing 
Done at Brussels, 25 April 1991. between oversights in registration, failure to keep a 
register at all, fraudulent registration of quantities, and 
wilful concealment of important information. The 
Commission is already striving to do this. 
2.8. The Committee feels it important that operators 
should inform the Member States authorities and/or 
the Commission immediately of infractions or even of 
suspicions, without waiting for trafficking to be 
brought to light by the compilation of information from 
registers. 
2.9. The Committee is concerned at the provisions 
contained in the second indent of Article 9(1) concern­
ing substances not included in the Annex which could 
be used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs or 
psychotropic substances. 
2.10. It will be difficult for certain operators whose 
role is strictly commercial, and who have no knowledge 
of the substances involved, to associate non-scheduled 
substances with illicit trafficking. The Commission 
should therefore make the list in the Annex as complete 
as possible. 
3. Specific Comments 
3.1. Given the importance of the subject, the Com­
mittee considered whether a Regulation might have 
been a more appropriate instrument than a Directive. 
The Commission has opted for a Directive partly 
because certain Member States already have provisions 
on the subject, and partly because it proposes that the 
Directive will enter into force very quickly—Article 10 
specifies 1 July 1991. 
3.2. Although the administrative formalities required 
by the keeping of registers will entail certain costs 
for the businesses involved, these costs are marginal 
compared to the retail price of the substances concerned 
and will not materially affect the consumer of the licit 
finished products in which the substances are used. 
3.3. An Appendix follows detailing the legitimate 
and illicit uses of the six substances listed in Table I 
and the six substances listed in Table II. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Francois STAEDELIN 
No C 159/60 Official Journal of the European Communities 17. 6. 91 
TABLE I APPENDIX 
to the Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee 
Uses of Table I and II Substances 
Substa Legitimate Use Illicit Use 
Ephedrine 
Ergotmetrine 
(Ergonovine) 
Ergotamine 
Lysergic Acid 
l-Phenyl-2-Propanone 
(P2P, BMK) 
Pseudo-ephedrine in nasal decongestant preparations 
treatment of post partum haemorrhaging 
in preparations for the treatment of migraine 
manufacture of LSD 
occasionally used in manufacture of rat poisons 
and in perfumes 
in nasal decongestant and cough preparations manufacture of metham-
phetamine 
manufacture of LSD 
manufacture of LSD 
manufacture of LSD 
manufacture of ampheta­
mine 
manufacture of metham-
phetamine 
TABLE II 
Acetic Anhydride 
Acetone 
Anthranilic Acid 
Ethyl Ether 
Phenylacetic Acid 
Piperidine solvent used in manufacture of textile sizing 
agents, aspirin, and in polishing metals 
solvent used in manufacture of plastics, paints, 
varnishes 
chemical intermediate required to manufacture 
dyes, pharmaceuticals, perfumes 
solvent for the manufacture of munitions, plas­
tics or extractant for fats, waxes, oils, perfumes, 
resins, dyes 
manufacture of penicillins and flavourings 
solvent and intermediate curing agent for rubber 
and epoxy resins; catalyst for condensation reac­
tions processing heroine from 
morphine 
processing of heroine and 
cocaine 
manufacture of methaqua-
lone 
processing of heroine and 
cocaine 
manufacture of amphetam­
ine and l-Phenyl-2-Pro-
panone (P2P, BMK) 
manufacture of phen-
cyclidine (PCP)