§ Ms DrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the Government have to ban the sale and possession of the sedative drug, Gammahydroxybutyrate. [105612]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeI have been asked to reply.
The sale of Gammahydroxybutyrate (GHB) is governed by the Medicines Act 1968 and prohibited except under licence. GHB is not currently controlled under international drugs conventions or the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, and so possession does not constitute an offence.
The Government keep drug misuse under review and the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has a statutory responsibility to advise the Government on such matters. The Council has considered the misuse of GHB on several occasions, most recently in May 1998. It decided against recommending that GHB be controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act. At present, the World Health Organisation are looking at GHB and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction is considering its misuse within the European Union. The possible use of GHB in cases of drug rape is being considered within a Home Office sponsored Metropolitan Police research initiative into drug-assisted rape. The findings of these various pieces of research will be considered as part of the ongoing review process to which I have referred.