Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Government response to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs' report, Barriers to Research Part 2: Schedule 1 Controlled Drugs, published on 16 July 2025, what progress her Department has made on (a) establishing the proposed pilot scheme to exempt universities and hospitals from the requirement to obtain a Home Office licence for research involving Schedule 1 controlled drugs, (b) creating an exemption for clinical studies with MHRA, HRA and Research Ethics Committee approval, (c) reviewing the domestic and import/export licensing system, and (d) developing the framework to assess the impact of those policy changes.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government responded to ACMD recommendations on reducing barriers to clinical research with Schedule 1 drugs in July 2025. A cross-government officials group is in place and is developing the policy and has engaged with other departments, agencies, stakeholders and international partners. The Government remains committed to implementing the recommendations and will publish further plans in due course.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Government response to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs' report, Barriers to Research Part 2: Schedule 1 Controlled Drugs, published on 16 July 2025, whether the Barriers to Research Working Group has met with the new cross-government working group to discuss implementation of those recommendations.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government responded to ACMD recommendations on reducing barriers to clinical research with Schedule 1 drugs in July 2025. A cross-government officials group is in place and is developing the policy and has engaged with other departments, agencies, stakeholders and international partners. The Government remains committed to implementing the recommendations and will publish further plans in due course.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the reclassification of ketamine as a class B drug on (a) the rate of its usage among (i) 16 to 59-year-olds and (ii) 16 to 24-year-olds, (b) the average street price of ketamine and (d) its illicit availability in each year since 2015.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
My reply to my honourable friend's previous questions as to what assessment the Home Office had made of the potential impact of the reclassification of ketamine on these four matters confirmed that we had not carried out such an exercise and that the drivers of the availability, market price and prevalence of drugs are complex.
As to any future assessments, in January 2025 my predecessor asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to provide an updated assessment on the harms of ketamine, and I would expect its report to provide an holistic assessment of that drug.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the reclassification of ketamine as a class B drug on the rate of usage among 16 to 24 year olds annually since 2015.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Ketamine is a dangerous substance, which can cause irreversible bladder damage and in some cases death. Ministers are very concerned about the harms ketamine causes and on 16 October 2025 the Department for Health and Social Care launched a campaign to alert young people to the dangers of that drug (as well as counterfeit medicines containing synthetic opioids, and THC vapes).
Ketamine was moved from Class C to Class B within Schedule 2 to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (MDA) in 2014, following a review of its harms by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). The ACMD noted that “although there is limited evidence of ketamine misuse causing social harm, evidence of physical harm (mainly chronic bladder toxicity but also an increase in acute toxicity) has increased”.
We have not carried out an assessment of the effects of that reclassification. The drivers of the availability, market price and prevalence of drugs are complex. The control of drugs under the MDA is an important means of reducing their availability and gives law enforcement the powers to target criminals involved in supplying harmful substances. In 2024 there were 2,014 prosecutions and 1,507 convictions in England and Wales for offences relating to the possession and trafficking of ketamine.
In January 2025 the Government asked the ACMD to provide an updated harms assessment of ketamine. The ACMD carried out a public call for evidence in August and we expect to receive its report by the end of 2025. We will carefully consider its recommendations.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the reclassification of ketamine as a class B drug on the rate of usage among 16 to 59 year olds annually since 2015.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Ketamine is a dangerous substance, which can cause irreversible bladder damage and in some cases death. Ministers are very concerned about the harms ketamine causes and on 16 October 2025 the Department for Health and Social Care launched a campaign to alert young people to the dangers of that drug (as well as counterfeit medicines containing synthetic opioids, and THC vapes).
Ketamine was moved from Class C to Class B within Schedule 2 to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (MDA) in 2014, following a review of its harms by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). The ACMD noted that “although there is limited evidence of ketamine misuse causing social harm, evidence of physical harm (mainly chronic bladder toxicity but also an increase in acute toxicity) has increased”.
We have not carried out an assessment of the effects of that reclassification. The drivers of the availability, market price and prevalence of drugs are complex. The control of drugs under the MDA is an important means of reducing their availability and gives law enforcement the powers to target criminals involved in supplying harmful substances. In 2024 there were 2,014 prosecutions and 1,507 convictions in England and Wales for offences relating to the possession and trafficking of ketamine.
In January 2025 the Government asked the ACMD to provide an updated harms assessment of ketamine. The ACMD carried out a public call for evidence in August and we expect to receive its report by the end of 2025. We will carefully consider its recommendations.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the reclassification of ketamine as a class B drug on the average street price of ketamine annually since 2015.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Ketamine is a dangerous substance, which can cause irreversible bladder damage and in some cases death. Ministers are very concerned about the harms ketamine causes and on 16 October 2025 the Department for Health and Social Care launched a campaign to alert young people to the dangers of that drug (as well as counterfeit medicines containing synthetic opioids, and THC vapes).
Ketamine was moved from Class C to Class B within Schedule 2 to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (MDA) in 2014, following a review of its harms by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). The ACMD noted that “although there is limited evidence of ketamine misuse causing social harm, evidence of physical harm (mainly chronic bladder toxicity but also an increase in acute toxicity) has increased”.
We have not carried out an assessment of the effects of that reclassification. The drivers of the availability, market price and prevalence of drugs are complex. The control of drugs under the MDA is an important means of reducing their availability and gives law enforcement the powers to target criminals involved in supplying harmful substances. In 2024 there were 2,014 prosecutions and 1,507 convictions in England and Wales for offences relating to the possession and trafficking of ketamine.
In January 2025 the Government asked the ACMD to provide an updated harms assessment of ketamine. The ACMD carried out a public call for evidence in August and we expect to receive its report by the end of 2025. We will carefully consider its recommendations.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the reclassification of ketamine as a class B drug on its illicit availability.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Ketamine is a dangerous substance, which can cause irreversible bladder damage and in some cases death. Ministers are very concerned about the harms ketamine causes and on 16 October 2025 the Department for Health and Social Care launched a campaign to alert young people to the dangers of that drug (as well as counterfeit medicines containing synthetic opioids, and THC vapes).
Ketamine was moved from Class C to Class B within Schedule 2 to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (MDA) in 2014, following a review of its harms by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). The ACMD noted that “although there is limited evidence of ketamine misuse causing social harm, evidence of physical harm (mainly chronic bladder toxicity but also an increase in acute toxicity) has increased”.
We have not carried out an assessment of the effects of that reclassification. The drivers of the availability, market price and prevalence of drugs are complex. The control of drugs under the MDA is an important means of reducing their availability and gives law enforcement the powers to target criminals involved in supplying harmful substances. In 2024 there were 2,014 prosecutions and 1,507 convictions in England and Wales for offences relating to the possession and trafficking of ketamine.
In January 2025 the Government asked the ACMD to provide an updated harms assessment of ketamine. The ACMD carried out a public call for evidence in August and we expect to receive its report by the end of 2025. We will carefully consider its recommendations.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to require the introduction of traceable labels on nitrous oxide canisters to track the point of sale.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the Hon Member to the updated response issued to PQ 49048.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to introduce traceable labels on nitrous oxide canisters to allow the authorities to know the point of sale.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
With apologies for the previous answer, nitrous oxide is controlled as a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, and it is an offence to produce, supply, offer to supply, possess, possess with intent to supply, import and export nitrous oxide, where the intention is for it to be used for its psychoactive effects.
The Home Office is not responsible for labelling or tracking nitrous oxide in the many contexts in which its use is legitimate. This would fall to government departments and regulators for the relevant sectors.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will consider transferring responsibility for the misuse of drugs to the Department of Health and Social Care.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Responsibility for drug policy is shared across a number of departments and both the Home Office and the Department for Health and Social Care have important roles to play in setting policy to tackle drug use and to reduce drug-related crime and drug health harms. The Home Office is the lead department for the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and associated drug legislation, working with other departments as appropriate where changes in the law are required.
Illicit drug use affects the whole of society, and this Government is taking a collective response which will help our key missions to deliver safer streets, improve health outcomes and contribute to opportunities and growth through reducing crime and saving lives.