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 âsufficient to constitute a social problemâ that might be caused by the misuse of drugs. |