Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Ingredients Scheduled under Drug Legislation: Review

Monday 14 November 2022 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial questions addressed the review of ingredients scheduled under drug legislation.
  • The Government aim to balance preventing criminality with allowing access for legitimate use, such as medicines development.
  • The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs is considering barriers to legitimate research posed by controlled drugs, including implications for psychedelic drugs.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Charlotte Nichols Lab Warrington North
NHS
Context

The question arises from concerns over the health benefits of certain drugs that are scheduled under the Misuse of Drugs Act and Regulations, specifically regarding their potential medicinal use.

Question

Whether she is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that the potential health benefits of ingredients scheduled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 are kept under review.

Answer from Chris Philp

Drug control seeks to strike a balance between preventing criminality on the one hand and allowing access for legitimate use, such as medicines development, on the other. The Government are guided in their decisions by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs as a well-established process for taking these decisions, and of course we follow the expert advice.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific steps being taken to review drug ingredients were not detailed. Only general guidance was mentioned.

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Q2 Charlotte Nichols Lab Warrington North
Science & Technology Mental Health
Context

Psilocybin's current scheduling as a class 1 drug is hindering promising UK-based research into its potential therapeutic benefits, especially in treating treatment-resistant depression. The Home Office's position on this issue has been criticized.

Question

Psilocybin should never have been designated a schedule 1 substance, but this position by the Home Office has become even more untenable following publication this month of the largest multi-site phase 2b trial of psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression. The study found rapid and enduring reductions in depression symptoms on a 25 mg dose. The further, very promising research in the UK is being severely hindered by psilocybin's schedule 1 status and the prohibitive associated costs for our academic researchers. Will the Home Secretary finally commit to rescheduling psilocybin and related compounds to schedule 2, to allow more research into mental health treatment paradigms that could see a happier, healthier and more productive country and a growth boom for our science, innovation and pharmacology sectors?

Answer from Chris Philp

The drug to which the hon. Lady refers is an MDMA-based medicine. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs is currently considering the barriers to legitimate research that are posed by controlled drugs. Once we have had its advice on the topic, including the implications for psychedelic drugs, such as MDMA and psilocybin, we will obviously take an appropriate decision in relation to research. In relation to more widespread availability, we will follow the decisions made by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence before reaching any such decision ourselves.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific commitment to reschedule psilocybin was not given. The response referred to ongoing review processes without concrete action.

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