Supplying Paraphernalia
Section 9 Misuse of Drugs Act
Under Section 9A of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, it is a criminal offence to supply or offer to supply articles for administering or preparing controlled drugs.
The offence will be committed if the following circumstances exist:
- An article is supplied or offered to be supplied.
- The article may be used or adapted to be used (whether by itself or in combination with another article or articles) in the administration of a controlled drug.
- The person supplying or offering to supply the article did so in the belief that the article would be so used by any person, whether to administer the drug to themselves or another, in circumstances where that administration would be unlawful.
Articles such as crack pipes, grinders, spoons, bongs and tourniquets could fall within this prohibition. However, prosecutions under s.9A are unusual.
Exceptions
Section 9A provides that certain articles are specifically exempted from the prohibition, namely:
- Hypodermic syringes
The following articles are exempt if they are dispensed by a doctor, a pharmacist or someone working lawfully within drug treatment services:
- Swabs
Utensils for the preparation of a controlled drug - Citric acid
- Filters
- Ascorbic acid
- Water ampoules of up to 2ml
A prescription is required for ampoules of more than 2ml. The dispensing of ampoules of water for injection has been an area of confusion for many years. When Reg. 6A was introduced, because water ampoules were a prescription-only product, the ability to dispense them remained limited. This problem has been recently addressed by introducing legislation to allow drug workers to supply water ampoules of up to 2ml. (SI 2005/1507)
