HL Deb 23 February 1932 vol 83 cc651-2

Order of the Day for the House to be put into Committee read.

Moved, That the House do resolve itself into Committee.—(The Earl of Lucan.)

On Question, Motion agreed to.

House in Committee accordingly:

[The EARL OF ONSLOW in the Chair.]

Clause 1 agreed to.

Clause 2:

Prohibition of trade, etc., in new drugs and power to apply Part III of principal Act with or without modifications to certain drugs.

2.—(1) It shall not be lawful for any person in the United Kingdom to trade in or manufacture for the purpose of trade any products obtained from any of the phenanthrene alkaloids of opium or from the ecgonine alkaloids of the coca leaf, not being a product which was on the thirteenth day of July, nineteen hundred and thirty-one, being used for medical or scientific purposes:

Provided that if His Majesty is at any time satisfied as respects any such product that it is of medical or scientific value, he may by Order in Council direct that this subsection shall cease to apply to that product.

THE EARL OF LUCAN moved to insert at the end of subsection (1) of Clause 2: "If any person acts in contravention of this subsection he shall be guilty of an offence against the principal Act." The noble Earl said: This is a manuscript Amendment which your Lordships may have seen. The Government are very much indebted to my noble friend Viscount Bertie for having drawn attention to an omission in the Bill as it was drafted. The reason for bringing forward this Amendment is that as the Bill stands no specific penalty is provided in Clause 2 for the infraction of the provisions contained in it. The unlawfulness of certain acts is stated but there is no penalty. Without any further provision the offences dealt with in the clause might be punishable as Common Law mis- demeanours, but it is thought that it would be more satisfactory that the penalties for such offences should be the same as the penalties for offences under the existing Acts. These penalties are laid down in Section 2 of the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1923. I do not think I need give any further explanation.

Amendment moved— Page 4, line 13, at end insert ("If any person acts in contravention of this subsection he shall be guilty of an offence against the principal Act")—(The Earl of Lucan.)

VISCOUNT BERTIE OF THAME

I beg to express my thanks to the noble Earl for having relieved me of the task of moving the Amendment myself.

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Clause 2, as amended, agreed to.

Remaining clauses agreed to.