Response to the ACMD’s report: a review of the evidence of the use and harms of novel benzodiazepines
Published 8 September 2020
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Kit Malthouse MP
Minister of State for Crime and Policing
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
BY EMAIL ONLY
Professor Owen Bowden-Jones
Chair, Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs
Professor Simon Thomas
Chair of the ACMD NPS Committee
8 September 2020
Dear Professor Bowden-Jones and Professor Thomas
Response to the ACMD’s report: A review of the evidence of the use and harms of novel benzodiazepines
Thank you for your advice of 29 April about the thirteen novel benzodiazepines that the ACMD has considered for control under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
I accept your recommendation to control flualprazolam, flunitrazolam and norfludiazepam under Class C of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and to place them in Schedule 1 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 as soon as Parliamentary time allows.
I note the Council’s concerns about the ongoing risks posed by the other ten novel benzodiazepines identified in your report. I agree that it is important to continue to monitor these compounds for health harms and prevalence. The Forensic Early Warning System will continue to identify new psychoactive substances and will remain an important means by which to identify these substances both at the border and in prisons.
I thank the Council again for its valuable report and recommendations.
Kit Malthouse MP, Minister of State for Crime and Policing