Misuse of Drugs Act needs to be changed
The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 needs to be changed.
In 1971 the Misuse of Drugs Act established the approach to drugs and the misuse of drugs that still prevails.
The Act introduced a classification system for illegal drugs (only), in a hierarchy that was intended, at least, to be drawn up by reference to the harms, largely medical, that each substance causes.
The Act also enshrined in law a clear distinction between the supply and the possession of drugs, and it set up the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs as a source of independent advice on the risk of harmful effects ‘sufficient to constitute a social problem’ that might be caused by the misuse of drugs.