Misuse of Drugs Regulations 1973
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1973/797 |
| Year | 1973 |
1973 No. 797
DANGEROUS DRUGS
The Misuse of Drugs Regulations 197319thApril 1973
7thMay 1973
1stJuly 1973
ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS
PART I
GENERAL
1. Citation and commencement.
2. Interpretation.
3. Metric system and imperial system.
PART II
EXEMPTIONS FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE MISUSE OF DRUGS ACT 1971
4. Exceptions for drugs in Schedule 1 and poppy-straw.
5. Licences to produce etc. controlled drugs.
6. General authority to possess.
7. Administration of drugs in Schedules 1, 2 and 3.
8. Production and supply of drugs in Schedules 1 and 2.
9. Production and supply of drugs in Schedule 3.
10. Possession of drugs in Schedules 2 and 3.
11. Exemption for midwives in respect of pethidine.
12. Cultivation under licence of Cannabis plant.
13. Approval of premises for cannabis smoking for research purposes.
PART III
REQUIREMENTS AS TO DOCUMENTATION AND RECORD KEEPING
14. Documents to be obtained by supplier of controlled drugs.
15. Form of prescriptions.
16. Provisions as to supply on prescription.
17. Exemption for certain prescriptions.
18. Marking of bottles and other containers.
19. Keeping of registers.
20. Requirements as to registers.
21. Record-keeping requirements in particular cases.
22. Preservation of registers, books and other documents.
23. Preservation of records relating to drugs in Schedule 1.
PART IV
MISCELLANEOUS
24. Destruction of controlled drugs.
25. Transitional provisions.
SCHEDULES
SCHEDULE 1—Controlled drugs excepted from the prohibition on importation, exportation and possession and subject to the requirements of Regulation 23.
SCHEDULE 2—Controlled drugs subject to the requirements of Regulations 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 24.
SCHEDULE 3—Controlled drugs subject to the requirements of Regulations 14, 15, 16 and 18.
SCHEDULE 4—Controlled drugs subject to the requirements of Regulations 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20 and 24.
SCHEDULE 5—Form of register.
In pursuance of sections 7, 10, 22(a) and 31 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971(a), after consultation with the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, I hereby make the following Regulations:—
PART I
GENERAL
Citation and commencement
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 1973 and shall come into operation on 1st July 1973.
(a) 1971 c. 38.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, the expression—
"the Act" means the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971;
"authorised as a member of a group" means authorised by virtue of being a member of a class as respects which the Secretary of State has granted an authority under and for the purposes of Regulations 8(3), 9(3) or 10(3) which is in force, and "his group authority", in relation to a person who is a member of such a class, means the authority so granted to that class;
"health prescription" means a prescription issued by a doctor or a dentist either under the National Health Service Act 1946(a), the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1947(b), the Health Services Act (Northern Ireland) 1971(c) or the National Health Service (Isle of Man) Act 1948 (an Act of Tynwald) or upon a form issued by a local authority for use in connection with the health service of that authority;
"installation manager" and "offshore installation" have the same meanings as in the Mineral Workings (Offshore Installations) Act 1971(d);
"master" has the same meaning as in the Merchant Shipping Act 1894(e);
"matron or acting matron" includes any male nurse occupying a similar position;
"the Merchant Shipping Acts" means the Merchant Shipping Acts 1894 to 1971;
"officer of customs and excise" means an officer within the meaning of the Customs and Excise Act 1952(f);
"prescription" means a prescription issued by a doctor for the medical treatment of a single individual, by a dentist for the dental treatment of a single individual or by a veterinary surgeon or veterinary practitioner for the purposes of animal treatment;
"register" means a bound book and does not include any form of loose leaf register or card index;
"registered pharmacy" has the same meaning as in the Medicines Act 1968(g);
"retail dealer" means a person lawfully conducting a retail pharmacy business or a pharmacist engaged in supplying drugs to the public at a health centre within the meaning of the Medicines Act 1968;
"sister or acting sister" includes any male nurse occupying a similar position;
"wholesale dealer" means a person who carries on the business of selling drugs to persons who buy to sell again.
(2) In these Regulations any reference to a Regulation or Schedule shall be construed as a reference to a Regulation contained in these Regulations or, as the case may be, to a Schedule thereto; and any reference in a Regulation or Schedule to a paragraph shall be construed as a reference to a paragraph of that Regulation or Schedule.
(a) 1946 c. 81.
(b) 1947 c. 27.
(c) 1971 c. 1 (N.I.).
(d) 1971 c. 61.
(e) 1894 c. 60.
(f) 1952 c. 44.
(g) 1968 c. 67.
(3) In these Regulations any reference to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended, and as including a reference thereto as extended or applied, by or under any other enactment.
(4) Nothing in these Regulations shall be construed as derogating from any power or immunity of the Crown, its servants or agents.
(5) The Interpretation Act 1889(a) shall apply for the interpretation of these Regulations as it applies for the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.
Metric system and imperial system
3.—(1) For the purposes of these Regulations—
(a) a controlled drug shall not be regarded as supplied otherwise than on a prescription or other order by reason only that the prescription or order specifies a quantity of the controlled drug in terms of the imperial system and the quantity supplied is the equivalent of that amount in the metric system;
(b) where any person may lawfully be in possession of a quantity of a controlled drug determined by or under these Regulations in terms of the imperial system he shall be deemed not to be in possession of a quantity of that controlled drug in excess of the first-mentioned quantity by reason only that he is in possession of a quantity of that drug which is the equivalent of the first-mentioned quantity in the metric system.
(2) For the purposes of this Regulation the quantity of a controlled drug in the metric system which is the equivalent of a particular quantity in the imperial system shall be taken to be the appropriate quantity ascertained in accordance with the provisions of the Weights and Measures (Equivalents for dealing with drugs) Regulations 1970(b).
PART II
EXEMPTIONS FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE MISUSE OF DRUGS ACT 1971
Exceptions for drugs in Schedule 1 and poppy-straw
4.—(1) Sections 3(1) and 5(1) of the Act (which prohibit the importation, exportation and possession of controlled drugs) shall not have effect in relation to the controlled drugs specified in Schedule 1.
(2) Sections 4(1) (which prohibits the production and supply of controlled drugs) and 5(1) of the Act shall not have effect in relation to poppy-straw.
Licences to produce etc. controlled drugs
5. Where any person is authorised by a licence of the Secretary of State issued under this Regulation and for the time being in force to produce, supply, offer to supply or have in his possession any controlled drug, it shall not by virtue of section 4(1) or 5(1) of the Act be unlawful for that person to produce, supply, offer to supply or have in his possession that drug in accordance with the terms of the licence and in compliance with any conditions attached to the licence.
(a) 1889 c. 63.
(b) S.I. 1970/1897 (1970 III, p. 6242).
General authority to possess
6. Any of the following persons may, notwithstanding the provisions of section 5(1) of the Act, have any controlled drug in his possession, that is to say—
(a) a constable when acting in the course of his duty as such;
(b) a person engaged in the business of a carrier when acting in the course of that business;
(c) a person engaged in the business of the Post Office when acting in the course of that business;
(d) an officer of customs and excise when acting in the course of his duty as such;
(e) a person engaged in the work of any laboratory to which the drug has been sent for forensic examination when acting in the course of his duty as a person so engaged;
(f) a person engaged in conveying the drug to a person authorised by these Regulations to have it in his possession.
Administration of drugs in Schedules 1, 2 and 3
7.—(1) Any person may administer to another any drug specified in Schedule 1.
(2) A doctor or dentist may administer to a patient any drug specified in Schedule 2 or 3.
(3) Any person other than a doctor or dentist may administer to a patient, in accordance with the directions of a doctor or dentist, any drug specified in Schedule 2 or 3.
Production and supply of drugs in Schedules 1 and 2
8.—(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 4(1)(a) of the Act—
(a) a practitioner or pharmacist, acting in his capacity as such, may manufacture or compound any drug specified in Schedule 1 or 2;
(b) a person lawfully conducting a retail pharmacy business and acting in his capacity as such may, at the registered pharmacy at which he carries on that business, manufacture or compound any drug specified in Schedule 1 or 2.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 4(1)(b) of the Act any of the following persons, that is to say:—
(a) a practitioner;
(b) a pharmacist;
(c) a person lawfully conducting a retail pharmacy business;
(d) the matron or acting matron of a hospital or nursing home which is wholly or mainly maintained by a public authority out of public funds or by a charity or by voluntary subscriptions;
(e) in the case of such a drug supplied to her by a person responsible for the dispensing and supply of medicines at the hospital or nursing home, the sister or acting sister for the time being in charge of a ward...
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