Government response to the ACMD’s advice on Cumyl-PeGaClone and other recently encountered synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists
Published 25 July 2023
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Rt Hon Chris Philp MP
Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
Professor Owen Bowden-Jones
Chair, Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD)
Professor Simon Thomas
Chair of NPS Committee
ACMD
C/o 1st Floor
Peel Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
By email only ACMD@homeoffice.gov.uk
July 2023
Dear Owen and Simon,
The government’s response to the ACMD’s advice on Cumyl-PeGaClone and other recently encountered synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRA).
I am grateful to the ACMD for their advice on Cumyl-PeGaClone and other recently encountered SCRA. I have set out the recommendation and the government’s response below:
Recommendation 1
A consultation should be undertaken with stakeholders, including academia and the chemical and pharmaceutical industries on modifications to the current generic control for SCRA, to capture currently uncontrolled SCRA that have been detected in the UK and internationally, as listed in Annex A. The proposed wording for the generic definition for addition to the MDA is provided in Annex C.
This would include Cumyl-PeGaClone, which has been added to Schedule II of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971. Compounds covered by the revised generic would, therefore, be classified as Class B compounds under the MDA 1971.
As yet, no medical use of any of these compounds has been established, so those covered by the revised generic definition should appear in Schedule 1 of the MDR 2001 (as amended) and added to schedule 1 of the Misuse of Drugs (Designation) (England, Wales and Scotland) Order 2015, to which section 7(4) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 applies.
Government response
The government accepts this recommendation and will conduct a consultation with relevant stakeholders on modifications to the current generic control for SCRA as soon as possible. However, in order to meet our international obligations more quickly, and to ensure that Cumyl-PeGaClone is controlled in the interim, the government intends to bring forward legislation to control Cumyl-PeGaClone as a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and place Cumyl-PeGaClone in Schedule 1 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 and the Misuse of Drugs (Designation) (England, Wales and Scotland) Order 2015, subject to Parliamentary approval.
Thank you again for your advice.
Yours sincerely,
[signed]
Rt Hon Chris Philp MP
Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire