International - Legality of novel drugs in different countries

[Toma]

EDIT: Please post in this thread if you see broken links.

EDIT: European Union and Norway consolidated controlled substance list

http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/loc...tid=15&id=6438

Last updated in October 2008.

Warning! Does not include substances that may be illegal due to analog provisions (eg. research chemicals)! For certainty you should also check with the respective country's laws. Especially applicable to the United Kingdom and Ireland which have extensive analog provisions.

/EDIT

Research chemicals and "legal highs", along with an aura of novelty, are often associated with the assumption that they are still legal. While that is generally true, I was surprised on several occasions by how far some countries have come along in keeping up with developments in new drugs.
Given that national legislations may vary widely, I think a consolidated and updated record would be useful to people traveling abroad and also for people not sure about their domestic legislation. The only other place I found such a consolidated list is Erowid, but that database is in many cases incomplete and out of date. I think a discussion forum would be a much more feasible environment for the maintenance of such a database.

In this thread I would like to propose a general format for such a record and post raw data which I will subsequently wikify. Also, I would like people to post the relevant legislation from their own countries, as it is difficult for me to search in languages I do not know. In effect this thread should be a discussion thread for the corresponding wiki.

General considerations:
1. Actuality – In some countries controlled substance schedules are modified by law, which is usually a more or less slow and cumbersome process and can usually be tracked in legal databases. In others, they may be modified by executive processes, including new substances quicker and leaving less of a record trail. When dealing with new drugs, trusting an outdated law may lead one to prison, therefore this should be the paramount issue to consider when reading a legal text. When posting a legal text, one should first of all check the date at which that text was last updated (including modifications by subsequent legal acts) and clearly state it. Also, some legal databases and official websites keep legal texts permanently updated and state this. The link to the source of the text should be posted before the text along with the date on which it was retrieved and the date when it was last updated. It should also be checked first, as the source may have been updated since the posting.
2. Completeness – Most countries have a special controlled substances law based on international treaties and subsequently amended or not. But sometimes there are also other laws which may make certain substances illegal – substances regulating toxic substances, precursors, commerce, laws dealing with civil rather than criminal offences, etc. These are often hard to come by if one is not acquainted with a country’s legal regime and thus would ideally be posted by someone from the respective country.
3. Analog provisions – Most proscriptions of controlled substances are done by schedules specifically mentioning each substance. A few countries have broad-reaching analog laws including substances chemically similar to those in the schedules. Many more countries have a few more specific provisions prohibiting specific classes of chemical derivatives like ethers or esters of scheduled substances. In some countries, the provisions are less clear and would benefit from clarification by someone familiar with that country’s legal regime.

Therefore I propose the following format and would appreciate it if people could post legal texts from their countries in this manner:

1. Link to the source of the legal text containing - controlled substance schedules, - analog provisions if applicable - general drug law
2. Date of last update of the source text (or actuality if it is from a permanently updated database)
If possible:
3. Summary of legal provisions, especially as pertaining to new drugs (research chemicals / ethnobotanicals): - new drugs explicitly listed - analog provisions - general drug law
4. Other relevant laws, legal practice considerations or observations

This information is of public interest and being criminal law, some people’s freedom may hinge on it. Therefore, when posting information, please give your consent for it to be copied elsewhere (on Erowid / Wiki / other forums).

I will post the legal texts I find on the internet from European countries, as I find them. If people can post texts from their countries and / or update, write summaries, give additional data, please do so.

Toma added 9 Minutes and 59 Seconds later...

Ro*mania

Sources:
http://www.ana.gov.ro/rom/l143.htm - general drug law, containing schedules – 26 / 07 / 2000
http://www.ana.gov.ro/rom/l522.htm - updates schedules - 24 / 11 / 2004, last modification as of 23 / 11 / 2008
http://www.ana.gov.ro/rom/leginterna.htm - other legal texts dealing with controlled substances and precursors – generally up to date

Summary:

New drugs included:
The only new drugs included are those included due to the European Union directive, mentioned in the second link above, namely PMMA, 4-MTA, 2C-I, 2C-T-2, 2C-T-7, TMA-2, 2C-B, GHB, ZOLPIDEM.

Analog provisions: salts and esthers and ethers of listed substances are included. Isomers, salts, esthers, ethers are subject to civil offences.

General drug law:

Possession for personal consumption:
schedules 1-2 – 2 to 5 years prison
schedule 3 (cannabis & pharmaceuticals) – 6 months to 2 years prison or fine with criminal record

Trafficking:
schedules 1-2 – 10 to 20 years prison
schedule 3 – 3 to 15 years prison

International trafficking:
schedules 1-2 – 15 to 25 years prison
schedule 3 – 10 to 20 years prison

Observations: Unlike most other European countries, ketamine is legal, as well as GBL.

Toma added 66 Minutes and 37 Seconds later...

Italy

Source:
http://www.anvu.it/approfondimenti/c...07-104_tab.pdf
This document was dated 25 / 09 / 2007. Considering the speed with which they schedule things it may be out of date. If you find a newer updated table you should post it.

Observations: These cazzos schedule pretty much everything. One would expect a latin country to be more lascia fare.




Germany

Sources:
http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bt...106810981.html
Last update as stated in source:
Narcotics Act in the version published on 1 March 1994 (Official Gazette I p. 358), as amended by Article 1 and Article 2 of Regulation of 18 February 2008 (Official Gazette I p. 246)

Summary:

Analog provisions:
Includes esters, ethers and molecular compounds in this plant substances listed if they do not in any other schedule, and recorded the existence of such esters, ethers and molecular compounds is possible;
--
the salts of these substances listed investment if the existence of such salts is possible;
--
the preparations of this plant substances listed if they do not
a)
without at or in the human or animal body to be applied exclusively diagnostic or analytical purposes and their content in one or more drugs per cent respectively 0001 does not exceed or substances in preparations or isotope compounds

b)
especially excluded;
--
the stereoisomers of this or any other plant substances listed as a narcotic if they are to be misused;
--
Organisms and parts of organisms in natural state or worked with in this or any other plant substances as well as for reproduction or production of these organisms suitable biological materials, if an abuse is noise purposes.

Observations: The Germans are really up to date. Their control freak mentality shows. There’s some shit on their schedules I haven’t even heard of. 6-CI-MDMA, Diethoxybromamfetamin... Does anyone know how they scheduled these? They found them when they lab tested some Ecstasy pills and sent them for scheduling?
Also, “molecular compounds” are included. Does anyone know how this phrase is interpreted? Is it used to prosecute research chemicals?

Reputation Comments on this post:

	Thanks - whatever info you can compile is very helpful and greatly appreciated!
	Thanks for posting this. We need more of this kind of information.
	cool thread
	good research. thanks fgor helping the site out.
	A nice compilation of laws and links to them. Great work. Thanks!