Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Temporary Class Drug) (No. 3) Order 2015

Karen Bradley Excerpts

Wednesday 6th January 2016 General Committees

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Karen Bradley)]

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Temporary Class Drug) (No. 3) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015 No. 1929).

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Davies. I believe that it is the day after your birthday, so many happy returns for yesterday—another twelfth night.

I thank the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs for its advice, which has informed the order. The order was laid in Parliament on 25 November last year under the affirmative procedure and came into force on 27 November. The order relates to methiopropamine, commonly known as MPA, and its simple derivatives. The order makes the drugs subject to temporary control under section 2A of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, thereby making it an offence to produce, import, export, supply or offer to supply them. The controls will last for up to 12 months while the ACMD considers whether the drugs should be made subject to a permanent ban.

The order is already having the desired effect. Since it came into force, websites marketing MPA have withdrawn it from sale. On 18 November, the ACMD reported that MPA has recently emerged as a replacement injecting drug for the methylphenidate-based compounds subject to temporary control by way of an order in 2015. While MPA has been monitored by the ACMD for a while, hard evidence of it being injected has surfaced only recently. The advice was accepted, and a temporary order was made for MPA and its simple derivatives on 27 November.

MPA is a stimulant psychoactive substance that is similar in structure to methamphetamine. Indeed, before temporary control, it had been referred to as legal methamphetamine as it shows similar properties. Reported side effects include abnormally fast heart rates, anxiety, panic attacks, perspiration, headaches, nausea, difficulty breathing, vomiting, difficulty urinating, and sexual dysfunction. There is also a potential high risk of blood-borne diseases and local tissue damage from injecting. The national programme on substance abuse deaths reported 30 cases in which MPA was found in post-mortem toxicology between 2012 and 2015—I have to revise my A-level chemistry—and in 22 of those cases MPA was implicated in the cause of death.

Under the order, front-line officers have additional powers to disrupt the sale of so-called legal highs online and in local head shops. The order sends out a clear message to the public, particularly to young people, that the drugs carry serious health risks. The Government recognise that temporary class drug orders are not the full solution to the threat posed by newly emerging psychoactive substances. The orders are necessarily reactive and only temporarily ban substances once there is initial evidence of harm. The Psychoactive Substances Bill currently before the House will provide a more sustainable, long-term solution that will better protect the public from the harm caused by such substances. In the meantime, Parliament’s approval of the order will ensure that it remains in force to reduce the threat to the public posed by these temporary class drugs for up to 12 months. Together with the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, we will consider the case for placing MPA under permanent control under the 1971 Act. I commend the order to the Committee.

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[Karen Bradley]

I will attempt to answer the questions that have been posed. I thank all members of the Committee for their support for the order. I will address the question from the hon. Member for Glasgow North East about the Psychoactive Substances Bill. She is absolutely right that we need to have that Bill. It is going through the normal legislative process. The Committee stage was completed shortly before Christmas. Subject to business managers finding time, it will come back to the Floor of the House for Report and Third Reading shortly. There are always time issues, but it will come back as soon as possible. We are legislating for this measure now to ensure that we can protect the public, particularly young people, from the damage that MPA causes.

As my hon. and learned Friend the Member for North East Hertfordshire said, we have seen the issues with injection of the drug in Scotland in particular. The real harm seems to come from that, which is why the ACMD made its recommendation. We fully support that recommendation, which is why the measure has been introduced. It is the Government here in Westminster who are taking action.

The hon. Member for Rotherham talked about supporting new legislation and about what is being done in schools. She is right: drugs policy is not just about banning; it is about education, which must ensure that people understand the harm that drugs can do. That is particularly true for young people, who are perhaps susceptible to trends and things that their friends may be doing.

It is important that the tools we have are evidence based. We have evidence-based online tools for educators and commissioners in line with the evidence set out in the ACMD’s report on prevention. That includes, for example, the alcohol and drug education and prevention information service, which provides practical advice and tools based on the best international evidence. There are a number of other measures, and I would be happy to meet separately with the hon. Lady to go through them or perhaps write to her, but I reassure her that the Government are ensuring that the policy on drugs is not just about banning drugs, but about ensuring that we deal with the overall problem and reduce the use of and demand for drugs. Through that, we can ensure that we do not have drugs in our society that cause significant harm to people. I commend the order to the House.

Question put and agreed to.