Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs' consumer cannabidiol products cover letter and report published on 17 December 2021.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
In January 2021, the Home Office wrote to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) seeking the Council’s advice on how we can strengthen the law on consumer CBD products. This followed concerns that some CBD products being sold for human consumption may contain THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), a controlled drug compound found within the cannabis plant, making these products likely to be unlawful.
The ACMD published their report on 17 December 2021, recommending changes to the law. We are in the process of considering their findings and the Government will respond in due course.
Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she made if the implications for her policies of the findings of the report by the APPG on CBD products entitled Plan for a Legal and Regulated UK Hemp and Cannabis Sector, published on 29 July 2022, on (a) the potential effect of reviewing CBD legislation on urban and rural job creation and tax income for the Government and (b) the potential effect on the CBD industry of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs proposals for the dosage threshold of 50 micrograms of controlled phytocannabinoids per unit of consumption, made to her Department by that body on 17 December 2021.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
No specific assessment has been made of the implications of the APPG CBD report on the potential effects on employment and taxation of a review of CBD legislation.
In January 2021, the Home Office wrote to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) seeking the Council’s advice on how we can strengthen the law on consumer CBD products.
This followed concerns that some CBD products being sold for human consumption may contain THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), a controlled drug compound found within the cannabis plant, making these products likely to be unlawful.
The ACMD published their report on 17 December 2021, recommending changes to the law. We are in the process of considering their findings and the Government will respond in due course.
Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will hold discussions with the Chief Medical Officer on the potential merits of psilocybin's (a) medicinal and (b) therapeutic use.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
There are no current plans for a meeting between Home Office Ministers and the Chief Medical Officer for England on the topic of psilocybin.
There is an established process for the development of medicines, overseen by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which enables medicines (including those containing Schedule 1 controlled drugs such as psilocybin) to be developed, evaluated in clinical trials and licensed based on an assessment of their safety, quality and efficacy before being made available to patients in the UK. Should an application be submitted for a marketing authorisation (product licence), it will ultimately be a decision for the MHRA whether to license psilocybin as a therapy.
In the context of these arrangements, officials from Department of Health and Social Care and the Home Office liaise regularly on matters connected to controlled drugs in healthcare to inform advice to Ministers. The views of experts including the Chief Medical Officer can be taken into account as part of this process.
Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 7 June 2021 to Question 7725 on Psilocybin: Health Hazards and to the Answer of 5 July 2021 to Question 24081 on Drugs: Misuse, on what evidential basis penalties are imposed for the possession of psilocybin.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Psilocybin, as an “ester of psilocin”, is controlled as a Class A drug under the 1971 Act and has been since the Act was introduced.
Psilocybin is also placed in Schedule 1 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001. Psilocin is subject to the United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971, to which the United Kingdom is signatory.
As the then Crime and Policing Minister set out in his response to Question 7725, a number of drugs which have been controlled under the 1971 Act for a considerable period of time have not been subject to analysis or recent analysis of harm. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs regularly provides advice on the harms of drugs, and these are published on the gov.uk website.
Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the evidential basis is for cocaine being classed as a Schedule 2 controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Cocaine is controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 as a Class A drug and placed in Schedule 2 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 (“the 2001 Regulations”).
Drugs placed in Schedule 2 to the 2001 Regulations have some known therapeutic value in the UK and are subject to strict prescribing, record keeping and storage requirements. In addition to the 2001 Regulations, the prescribing of cocaine will also be subject to the requirement of the Misuse of Drugs (Supply to Addicts) Regulations 1997, if prescribed to someone with a drug dependence disorder.
Cocaine is a licensed medicine authorised for local anaesthesia and vasoconstriction of the mucous membranes, for use in procedures such as oral and ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgery.
Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason the Home Office rejected the long term recommendations made by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to mitigate barriers to research in December 2017.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The then Government responded to the advice provided by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs in 2017, “Legitimate Use of Controlled Drugs: Research and Healthcare”, in 2019.
The response sets out the Government’s view of each recommendation. The response was published on Gov.uk and is available at the following link: Legitimate use of controlled drugs: research and healthcare - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 17 May 2021 to Question 2168 on Psilocybin: Health Hazards, in the context of psilocybin being classified under Schedule 1 of the United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971, for what reason substance 2-CB falls under Schedule 1 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001, when it is controlled under Schedule 2 of the United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
2C-B (4-Bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine), is controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 as a Class A drug, and placed in Schedule 1 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 (“the 2001 Regulations”). Drugs are designated and placed in Schedule 1 to the 2001 Regulations if they have no recognised therapeutic use in the UK, as is currently the case for 2C-B.
There is an established process for the development of medicines, which enables medicines (including those containing Schedule 1 drugs such as 2C-B) to be developed, evaluated in clinical trials and licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA), based on an assessment of their safety, quality and efficacy.
Should a company apply for a marketing authorisation (a product licence), it will ultimately be a decision for the MHRA whether to license a 2C-B-based medicine as a therapy. If a 2C-B-based medicine is made available following an assessment of its quality, safety and efficacy by the MHRA, the Home Office will seek and then consider advice provided by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) on its scheduling under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 as soon as possible. Such advice is a statutory requirement and will be considered before any decision is taken on scheduling under the 2001 Regulations.
Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will make it its policy to issue travel documents to children born in the UK to parents from Hong Kong on the British National (Overseas) visa so that those families are not required to enter Chinese consulate grounds.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office does not have plans to issue travel documents to children of parents on the Hong Kong British National (Overseas) route.
Individuals arriving in the UK must produce a valid passport with a photograph or some other document, which satisfactorily establishes their identity and nationality, if required to do so by a Border Force officer. Individuals who wish to travel outside the UK will need to comply with the entry requirements of the country they wish to enter, which may require a valid travel document to establish their identity and nationality.
It remains the case that those who hold a HKSAR passport and wish to travel to and from the UK will need to renew that passport or arrange for alternative documentation. The UK cannot assist with the renewal of passports of other nationalities.
Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 November 2021 on Drugs: Misuse, if she will provide details of the (a) key partners and (b) external experts in the drugs field that have been consulted.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The new Drug Strategy will respond in full to Dame Carol Black’s review and set out our long-term ambition to combat drugs. Parts one and two of Dame Carol Black’s review include comprehensive lists of the experts and wider partners in the drugs field who she engaged with to gather evidence and seek advice.
We have continued to engage external experts to inform the development of the new Drug Strategy, including Dame Carol Black in her role as independent advisor, Dr Ed Day our National Recovery Champion, and the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. We also continue to engage wider partners in the drugs field, including the National Police Chiefs Council and substance misuse treatment providers and commissioners.
We will undertake further engagement with experts and partners in the field to support the implementation of the Strategy and to inform annual reports to Parliament.
Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2021 to Question 58293 on Drugs: Misuse, whether a formal consultation process in line with guidelines has been used in developing the drug strategy, as was the case in the 2010 and other previous drug strategies; how existing external experts were chosen; and to what extent the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has (a) been involved in the new strategy's development or (b) provided feedback on the draft.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Like the 2017 Drug Strategy, the forthcoming Drug Strategy has been informed by extensive consultation with key partners in the drugs field. This includes through Dame Carol Black’s review of drugs, which involved significant consultation with external partners to gather information.
The calls for evidence for parts 1 and 2 of the review received responses from a wide range of stakeholders, including members of the public, academics, people working in the substance misuse sector and enforcement partners. Dame Carol also led an extensive programme of consultation events to develop her recommendations on drug treatment for part 2 of her review.
Our Strategy is responding to Dame Carol Black’s review in full. We have built on the research undertaken as part of the review, and have continued to consult external experts in order to shape the approach and interventions set out in the strategy. This includes Dame Carol Black in her role as independent advisor and Dr Ed Day our national Recovery Champion. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs’ Full Council has also been briefed on our strategic approach and members of the Council have provided feedback.