§ Mr. Ben ChapmanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the findings of the risk assessment on GHB carried out by the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction; [142404]
(2) if he will make a statement on the decision by ACMD to review its view on GHB in relation to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971; [142405]
(3) what action he proposes to take in response to the WHO recommendation that GHB should be scheduled under Schedule IV of the UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971. [142406]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThere is little I can usefully add at this stage to my reply to my hon. Friend's question on 29 November 2000,Official Report, column 681W. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) and the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) have concluded, separately, that the available data do not support calls to increase the controls on GHB. But both organisations have decided to see if additional data can be obtained to better inform their decisions. I look forward to receiving their further advice in due course.
I have seen the report of the World Health Organisation recommending that GHB should be scheduled under Schedule IV of the United Nations (UN) Convention of Psychotropic Substances 1971. I understand that all parties will be voting on this recommendation at the 258W meeting of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs in March 2001. In order to assist the Commission in making a decision the United Nations International Drug Control Programme has asked for further data from parties' Governments about GHB in general, but specifically about seizures. We are in the process of collating data from a range of sources in order to comply with this request.