§ Mr. McMasterTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the criteria which he applies to reschedule drug substances under the terms of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971; how temazepam relates to these criteria; and if he will make a statement. [31393]
§ Mr. MacleanNo rescheduling may occur under the 1971 Act except after consultation with, or on the recommendation of, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs; and the council is required to have regard to misused drugs which are having, or appear to them capable of having, harmful effects sufficient to constitute a social problem. The council has recommended that temazepam should be controlled under schedule 3 of the relevant regulations rather than schedule 4, the effects of which would be as the then Minister of State described in his reply of 19 April to the hon. Member,Official Report, column 196. The Government's careful consideration of this recommendation is continuing.
Following consultation with the Department of Health the Home Office is taking steps to impose safe custody requirements on manufacturers and wholesalers, and the Department of Health is engaged in consultations with interested parties with a view to banning NHS prescribing by general practitioners of the soft gelatin gel-filled capsules. These measures were announced by my right hon. Friend the Lord President of the Council on 10 May, Official Report, column 756.