Correspondence

Circular 006/2021: Control flualprazolam, flunitrazolam and norfludiazepam under the 1971 Act

Published 18 August 2021

A change to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 to control 3 benzodiazepines (flualprazolam, flunitrazolam and norfludiazepam) under Class C and to designate those drugs under the Misuse of Drugs (Designation) (England, Wales and Scotland) Order 2015 and schedule them under Schedule 1 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001.

1. Introduction

This circular draws attention to the contents of the below Statutory Instruments (SIs), S.I. 2021/868 and 2021/897 which came into force at 00:01am on 18 August 2021:

• The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Amendment) Order 2021 (S.I. 2021/868)
• The Misuse of Drugs and Misuse of Drugs (Designation) (Amendment) (England, Wales and Scotland) Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/897)

The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Amendment) Order 2021 classifies flualprazolam, flunitrazolam and norfludiazepam as Class C drugs under paragraph 1(a) of Part 3 of Schedule 2 to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (“the 1971 Act”). Additionally, flualprazolam, flunitrazolam and norfludiazepam are placed into Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Misuse of Drugs (Designation) (England, Wales and Scotland) Order 2015 (“the 2015 Order”) and Schedule 1 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 (“the 2001 Regulations”) as drugs which have no known legitimate medicinal use in the UK.

The SIs are available at www.legislation.gov.uk, as follows:

• S.I. 2021/868 - The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Amendment) Order 2021
• S.I. 2021/897 - The Misuse of Drugs and Misuse of Drugs (Designation) (Amendment) (England, Wales and Scotland) Regulations 2021

These SIs are also published by the Stationery Office. Telephone orders and general enquiries: 0333 202 5070 or online at www.tso.co.uk.

2. Background

The 1971 Act controls drugs that are ‘dangerous or otherwise harmful’ when misused, primarily under a three-tier system of classification (Classes A, B and C). This provides a framework within which criminal penalties are set with reference to the harm a drug has, or is capable of having, when misused and the type of illegal activity undertaken in regard to that drug.

The control of flualprazolam, flunitrazolam and norfludiazepam under Class C of the 1971 Act is predicated on an assessment of their respective harms and is made in accordance with recommendations of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD).

The 2001 Regulations (as amended) (S.I. 2001/3998) regulate the legitimate access to drugs controlled under the 1971 Act. Such drugs are placed in one of five Schedules to the 2001 Regulations. The Schedule into which a drug is placed is based on an assessment of its medicinal or therapeutic usefulness, the need for legitimate access and the potential harm when misused. Scheduling primarily dictates the extent to which it is lawful to import, export, produce, possess, supply, or administer the drugs concerned and imposes requirements around prescribing, record-keeping, labelling, destruction, disposal and safe custody.

Given that flualprazolam, flunitrazolam and norfludiazepam have no known legitimate medicinal use in the UK, the ACMD recommended these 3 benzodiazepines be added to Schedule 1 to the 2001 Regulations and placed into Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the 2015 Order, thus subjecting it to the strictest level of control.

3. Flualprazolam, flunitrazolam and norfludiazepam – Class C

The ACMD report published on 29 April 2020 states that adverse effects of benzodiazepines include drowsiness, psychomotor impairment, unsteadiness and incoordination, memory loss and confusion. Higher doses may cause loss of consciousness and respiratory depression, especially if used in combination with alcohol or other sedatives. Owing to the greater prevalence of flualprazolam, flunitrazolam and norfludiazepam than the other 10 benzodiazepines listed in the report, the ACMD recommended that those 3 compounds should be controlled as Class C drugs under the 1971 Act.

Addendum advice published in November 2020 recommended that these 3 benzodiazepines be designated under the 2015 Order as drugs which have no known legitimate medicinal use in the UK and to that end inserted into Schedule 1 to the 2001 Regulations. As they are subject to the strictest level of control, access to flualprazolam, flunitrazolam and norfludiazepam requires a Home Office licence. For more information about these compounds, see the ACMD’s advice.

4. Annex A. Offence recording codes

The codes for recording offences by the police and the courts for statistical purposes within the Home Office Recorded Crime and Ministry of Justice Court Appearance Database (CAD) – which includes cautions – are as follows:

Flualprazolam, flunitrazolam and norfludiazepam be placed under existing codes relating to “Other Class C” drugs as follows:

• 092/28 - Production of or being concerned in production of a controlled drug – Class C - other
• 092/48 - Supplying or offering to supply or being concerned in supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug – Class C - other
• 092/68 - Possession of a controlled drug – Class C - other
• 092/88 - Possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply – Class C - other
• 093/28 - Permitting premises to be used for unlawful purposes – Class C - other

Offences under s. 19(2)(a) and 19(2)(b) of the Criminal Justice (International Cooperation) Act 1990 will fall under the appropriate sub-classification code for either Class A, B or C drugs. For flualprazolam, flunitrazolam and norfludiazepam, codes 77/55, and 77/58, which relate to Class C drugs, refer.

Importation and Exportation offences under s. 50(2), (3) & (5) and s. 68(2) & (4) and s. 170 (1), (2), (3) & (4) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 will fall under the appropriate sub-classification code for either Class A, B or C drugs. Codes 92/05 and 92/08 relate to Class C Drugs.

Forces are required to record seizures of controlled drugs for the National Statistics Drug Seizures publication. Home Office analysts will advise of the relevant drug codes to record flualprazolam, flunitrazolam and norfludiazepam seizures when the 2020/21 data template and guidance are distributed in the autumn of 2021.