Statutory Rule 2002 No. 1 came into force on 1st February 2002.

For more information go to www.opsi.gov.uk

Whereas the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 contains all of the prohibitions, the authorities are contained in the Regulations.

For example, the Act states that it is an offence for anybody to possess (Section 5) or to supply (Section 4) a controlled drug, the combined effects of Regulations 8(2)(a),  9(2)(a) and 10(1)(a) and (b) allow a practitioner to possess and supply a controlled drug when acting in his capacity as such.

The Regulations divide controlled drugs into 5 Schedules according to the level of control required and provide reducing levels of control, depending on the perceived risk of social harm.

For more information on this go to Schedules 1 to 5 list (PDF 48KB).  

An A to Z list of the most commonly encountered drugs controlled under the misuse of drugs legislation can be found on the Home office site at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/cdlist.html

It is important to note that while this list is extensive it is not exhaustive.

For a summary of the main provisions of the Regulations please go to MDR (NI) 2002 Main Provisions (PDF 32KB)

The following link to extracts from the Regulations:

Please see the following document:

The Department of Health (England) has issued guidance on:

The National Prescribing Centre in England has issued written guides on the use of controlled drugs in Primary and Secondary Care settings.  Go to www.npc.co.uk to see these.

The RPSGB has issued guidance on controlled drugs and community pharmacy (PDF 423KB)