§ 57. Mr. Pavittasked the Secretary of State for Defence what checks he has on the supply of addictive and dependent drugs which are purchased for use in the forces under his control to ensure that 257W there is no leakage into a black market and no irresponsible disposal in sales of surplus stores.
§ Mr. ReynoldsAt medical stores depots, all such drugs are stored under lock and key under the supervision of qualified pharmaceutical officers. Records are kept of all receipts and issues, stocks are checked at regular intervals and independent audit teams make visits for stocktaking purposes from time to time. Similar arrangements apply after the drugs are issued to hospitals and other medical centres. Issue to wards and patients are only made against prescriptions signed by medical officers. The prescriptions are retained by the dispensers concerned to support the entries in the appropriate issues register.
Should drugs obtained for the Ministry of Defence become surplus to requirements they would be offered to the Department of Health and Social Security on repayment in the first instance provided they were still useable. In the event of failure to dispose of them in this way the next step would be to approach the Home Office for permission to sell them to firms licensed to procure, possess or supply drugs. Should such firms not be interested in purchasing them consideration would then be given to the drugs being destroyed.
It is only on rare occasions that drugs become available from Service sources for disposal to licensed firms. The most recent case was in October, 1966 but no offer was received and the drugs were later destroyed.