Dean R Hatt

Famous Quotes  “Drug misuse is not a disease, it is a decision, like the decision to step out in front of a moving car. You would call that not a disease but an error of judgment.”  “So, now I've been to see a drug counselor who told me I need to lay off the drugs and talk about my feelings, and a shrink who heard what I had to say and immediately put me on drugs.”

Agenda  Definitions  Regulations  Classification  Licensing  Storage  Annual Returns  Disposal  Audits

Definitions  Controlled drug  a medicine which is governed by the Misuse of Drugs Act  control is for the ordering, possession, supply, disposal and manufacture  Narcotic  An addictive drug affecting mood or behaviour  Psychotropic substance  A chemical substance that crosses the blood–brain barrier and acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it affects brain function, resulting in alterations in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition and behaviour.

Regulations  Misuse of Drugs act 1971  An act of the Parliament in the UK  It represented action in line with treaty commitments under the single convention on narcotic drugs, convention on psychotropic substances and the UN convention against illicit traffic in Narcotic drugs and Psychotropic substances.  Misuse of Drugs regulations 1985  amended  Criminal justice and police act 2001  Drugs Act  Repealing of 2001 act

Classification  Schedule 1  Not used medically, no therapeutic use  Cannabis, LSD, ecstasy (MDMA) etc  Possession and supply prohibited except for research  Schedule 2  Used medically as full controlled drug under CD prescription  Morphine, cocaine, methadone, fentanyl etc

Classification  Schedule 3  Used medically under CD prescription  Same as schedule 2 without need for registers  Midazolam, buprenorphine, phenobarbitone etc  Schedule 4 part I  Used medically under non CD prescription but need authority to possess  No need for register  Benzodiazepines e.g diazepam, oxazepam, midazolam etc

Classification  Schedule 4 part II  No restriction on possession when part of a medicine  No need for register  Anabolic Steroids e.g nandrolone, testosterone etc  Schedule 5  Preparations of medicines containing CD’s at very low levels  No need for register  Kaolin & Morphine, Co-codamol, Codeine Phosphate tablets  Extensive list of CD’s including precursors for abuse/chemical weapons

Licensing

 Controlled by the Home Office, Drugs branch  1 license for each drug schedule  Previously all drugs were named  Each license has a stipulated date  Previously these have been ‘endless’  License is for posession/supply/manufacture/import/export  Cost per license 3-5K, dependent on use, renewal is less

Licensing  Selling / provision of CD’s should only be allowed after checking on licenses of buyer/requester  New License holders  Are DBS (Disclosure and Barring service) checked  Must have a National Drugs Control System (NDS) account

Storage  CD’s must be stored in  A HO approved cabinet  At least 2 deadbolt locks  Bolted to floor and/or wall  Responsible of single key holder and keys not held with cabinet  Limited access to others at knowledge of key holder  ‘similar’ for those requiring cold storage  Requirements differ according to schedules of drugs

Controlled Drugs Ledger  A ledger which details the dates of all CD movements, in and out  Includes all weights, quantities, batch ID and all suppliers and recipients  Details all disposals and notification of checks and discrepancies  A separate page for each controlled drug

Annual Returns  Each January, there are needs for annual returns to ensure CD’s are accounted for  What did we have at start of year ?  What have we bought/brought in ?  What have we used/disposed/supplied ?  What have we got remaining ?  Used to be extensive but less importance for research establishments  Separate returns for narcotics, psycotropic substances and manufactures

Disposal  Must be at a HO approved site for disposal of CD drugs  Must be accompanied on route from source to disposal site  Disposal/destruction must be witnessed by appropriate person  Policeman, security guard etc  Records of disposals retained, amounts deducted in ledger and noted in annual returns

Audits  By HO inspector  Approx. every 3 years  For last 10 years, this was discontinued for research sites  Used to give zero notice – just turn up  Now they tell us a few months in advance  Inspect  Ledger, CD cabinet, Quantities, Disposal Log etc  A Recent inspection.....

For more Information  lled_drugs_third_edition.pdf lled_drugs_third_edition.pdf

Any Questions ?