Home Office Press Release
GOVERNMENT PLANS TO IMPOSE STRICT CONTROLS
ON
36 ECSTASY-TYPE SUBSTANCES
Proposals to
clamp down on 36 ecstasy-type substances were contained
in a consultation letter issued by the Home Office today.
The 36 substances
are, like ecstasy, derived from phenethylamine. The proposals
would bring these 'designer drugs' under the control of
the Misuse of Drugs legislation which would allow courts
to impose heavy penalties for manufacture, dealing and
possession.
Home Office
Minister George Howarth said:
"We all know
the dangers of ecstasy and the Government has a responsibility
to do all it can to prevent more of these types of substances
from being launched onto the illicit market. Strict controls
are essential to prevent the misuse of these ecstasy-type
substances. They will provide the enforcement authorities
with the tools they need to fight the drugs problem in
tandem with prevention and treatment agencies. Although
there is little evidence of their misuse in UK, these
measures will slam the stable door firmly shut before
the horse has bolted."
Of the 36,
all but one would become Class A drugs: unlawful possession
would attract a maximum penalty of seven years or an unlimited
fine or both; supply would attract life imprisonment or
an unlimited fine or both; and included in Schedule 1
to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 1985: production, supply
and possession would be unlawful except for the purposes
of research or other special purposes carried out under
licence of the Secretary of State.
Substance a
- methylphenethylhydroxylamine (or N-hydroxyamphetamine)
would become a Class B drug: unlawful possession would
attract a maximum penalty of five years or an unlimited
fine or both, unlawful production and supply would attract
fourteen years or an unlimited fine or both, and included
in Schedule 2 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 1985:
licences would be required by persons not already authorised
by the Regulations to possess, supply or produce Schedule
2 drugs; licences would also be required for import and
export; the prescription writing (including handwriting),
full record-keeping, and destruction requirements would
all need to be met; and the safe storage requirements
would apply.
There is some
evidence that these 'designer drugs' are being produced
for the illicit drugs market and there have been a number
of police seizures in the UK and overseas. While they
do not yet seem to be extensively misused in the UK, the
Government's independent advisory body, the Advisory Council
on the Misuse of Drugs, considered them 'capable of having
harmful effects sufficient to constitute a social problem'
(one of the criterion under the Misuse of Drugs Act) and
that they warranted control.
MDMA or ecstasy
has been controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971
as a Class A drug since 1977 and is covered by a generic
definition in the Act which also controls approximately
144 other identified substances with a similar chemical
structure. However, these 36 substances are not covered
by this generic definition and the Government proposes
to control them individually by name.
The consultation
letter also proposes that the Misuse of Drugs Regulations
1985 should be consolidated - they have been amended eight
times and currently take the form of nine separate documents
which makes them unwieldy to use.
The 36 substances
are:-
1) Allyl(a-methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyphenethyl)amine
2) 2-amino-1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylphenyl)ethanol
3) 2-amino-1-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)ethanol
4) Benzyl(a-methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyphenethyl)amine
5) 4-bromo-b,2,5-tromethoxyphenethylamine
6) N-(4-sec-butylthio-2,5-dimethoxyphenethyl)hydroxylamine
7) Cyclopropylmethyl(a-methyl-3,4
methylenedioxyphenethyl)amine
8) 2-(4,7-dimethoxy-2,3-dihydro-1H-indan-5-yl)ethylamine
9) 2-(4,7-dimethoxy-2,3-dihydro-1H-indan-5-yl)-1-methylethylamine
10) 2-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylphenyl)cyclopropylamine
11) 2-(1,4-dimethoxy-2-naphthyl)ethylamine
12) 2-(1,4-dimethoxy-2-naphthyl)-1-methylethylamine
13) N-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-propylthiophenthyl)hydoxylamine
14) 2-(1,4-dimethoxy-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-2-naphthyl)ethylamine
15) 2-(1,4-dimethoxy-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-2-naphthyl)-
1-methylethylamine
16) a,a-dimethyl-3,4-methylenedioxyphenethylamine
17) a,a-dimethyl-3,4-methylenedioxyphenethyl(methyl)amine
18) Dimethyl(a-methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyphenethyl)amine
19) N-(4-ethylthio-2,5-dimethoxyphenethyl)hydroxylamine
20) 4-iodo-2,5-dimethoxy-a-methylphenethyl(dimethyl)amine
21) 2-(1,4-methano-5,8-dimethoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-
6-naphthyl)ethylamine
22) 2-(1,4-methano-5,8-dimethoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-
6-naphthyl)-1-methylethylamine
23) 2-(5-methoxy-2,2-dimethyl-2,3-
dihydrobenzo[b]furan-6-yl)-1-methylethylamine
24) 2-methoxyethyl(a-methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyphenethyl)amine
25) 2-(5-methoxy-2-methyl-2,3-dihydrobenzo[b]furan-
6-yl)-1-methylethylamine
26) b-methoxy-3,4-methylenedioxyphenethylamine
27) 1-(3,4-methylenedioxybenzyl)butyl(ethyl)amine
28) 1-(3,4-methylenedioxybenzyl)butyl(methyl)amine
29) 2-(a-methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyphenethylamino)ethanol
30) a-methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyphenethyl(prop-2-ynyl)amine
31) N-methyl-N-(a-methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyphenethyl)hydroxylamine
32) O-methyl-N-(a-methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyphenethyl)hydroxylamine
33) b,3,4,5-tetramethoxyphenethylamine
34) b,2,5-trimethoxy-4-methylphenethylamine
35) 4-Methylthioamphetamine
36) a-methylphenethylhydroxylamine
(also known as N-
hydroxyamphetamine)
323/98 12 August 1998
