DANGEROUS DRUGS BILL. [H.L.] (Hansard, 17 February 1932)

§ THE EARL OF LUCAN

My Lords, the object of this Bill is to make the amendments in the Dangerous Drugs Acts, 1920–1925, which are necessary to enable His Majesty's Government to 614 ratify the International Convention which was adopted at an International Conference at Geneva in the summer of last year for limiting the manufacture and regulating the distribution of narcotic drugs. As your Lordships will be aware an extensive illicit traffic in such drugs as morphine, heroin and cocaine is being carried on in many parts of the world, and this traffic is facilitated by the fact that the drugs have been and are still being produced in quantities largely in excess of the medical and scientific requirements of the world.

The Opium Advisory Committee of the League of Nations has advocated, as the most effective step towards suppressing the illicit trade, the limitation of the manufacture of these drugs to the quantities required for medical and scientific purposes, but such limitation can only be brought, about by international agreement between the manufacturing countries, with the co-operation of the consuming countries. There was a Conference at Geneva in 1924–25 but efforts then to secure this agreement were unsuccessful. The question was revived again in 1929 and a Conference was held at Geneva in the summer of last year. It was attended by delegates from 56 countries and this International Convention was drawn up at that Conference. Legislation now has to be passed in respect of the Convention to enable the Government eventually to ratify it. I will not go at any length into any clause of the Bill. Your Lordships will perhaps realise one reason which would make it very difficult to do so. If you look at the names of some of the drugs specified in Clause 1 you will realise the feats of pronunciation that would be required, and should any of your Lordships intervene in debate I should be glad to be told how some of them should be pronounced. If there is any further information required I shall be very glad to give it. I now beg to move that the Bill be read a second time.