Drugs: Misuse
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the deterrent effects of classification on drug (a) use, (b) production, (c) sales and (d) the reduction of anti-social behaviour.
Answered by Sarah Jones
The Government has not made a formal assessment of the deterrent effects of classification. The Government consults the statutory expert advisory group, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) established under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, about the classification of drugs under the Act.
Recommendations made by the ACMD about classification are determined by an assessment of health and social harm, based on the evidence at the time of the review. ACMD advice on classification will depend on a range of factors, including evidence of actual and potential harms and comparisons with the harm of other controlled substances. While the Government must consider ACMD recommendations it is not bound by ACMD advice.
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