UNITED KINGDOM; Ketamine classified as Class C drug; further measures against traffic

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UNITED KINGDOM; Ketamine classified as Class C drug; further measures against traffickers enter into force (18/01/2006)

As of 1 January 2006, ketamine has been classified in Class C of the UK’s Misuse of Drugs Act, under The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Amendment) Order 2005 (Statutory Instrument no. 3178 of 2005). This means that unlawful possession may be punished by up to two years’ imprisonment, and unlawful possession with intent to supply may be punished by up to 14 years’ imprisonment.

At the same time, certain sections of the Drugs Act 2005 entered into force, as follows:

Section 1 inserts a new section 4A into the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 to stipulate the circumstances which a court must treat as aggravating factors – that is to say, factors that increase the seriousness of the offence – and which must be taken into account, for sentencing purposes. It will be an aggravating factor where drug dealers aged 18 or over use under-18s as drug couriers, or where someone deals drugs on or in the vicinity of school premises during the relevant time.

Section 3 allows courts or juries to draw such inference as they see fit from a refusal to consent to an intimate drug offence search without good cause.

Section 5 enables a police officer to authorise an x-ray or ultrasound scan of a person arrested for an offence and suspected of swallowing a Class A drug which he had in his possession unlawfully. The use of such procedures will be subject to the usual medical safeguards. A court or jury may draw such inference as they see fit from a refusal to consent to such procedures being carried out without good cause.

Section 8 amends s.152 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 to give magistrates’ courts the power to detain a person charged with possession of a controlled drug or a drug trafficking offence in police custody for up to 192 hours to increase the likelihood of any swallowed drugs being recovered.