A list (PDF format) of the most commonly encountered drugs currently controlled under the Misuse of Drugs legislation showing their respective classifications under both the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001. Please note that the list is not exhaustive.
Controlled drugs can only be purchased having first obtained a licence from the Home Office.
Certain substances i.e. Category 1 substances, that can be used as Precursor Chemicals in the manufacture of illicit drugs are controlled and require that a Home Office licence is in place prior to the substances being purchased. A list of drug precursors (PDF format) is provided. A licence is also required in the case of mixtures or natural products containing any Category 1 chemicals.
Records must also be kept for Category 2 drug precursors.
In addition to the necessary licences required for scheduled drug precursors, the Home Office actively encourage the Department to report any circumstances where the use of certain non-scheduled substances could be considered to be suspicious.
The full list (known as the EU Voluntary Monitoring List) can be found here.
The Annex document (PDF format) contains all the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) Schedules. The declarable CWC Schedules document (PDF format) contains a list of UK declarable CWC Scheduled chemicals which is not definitive and does not cover every potential CWC Scheduled chemical that could be produced, especially through research. It does however, list every CWC Scheduled chemical that has ever been declared to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
Schedule 1 Poisons must be kept locked away in the Department safe/locked fridge within Stores. Access to the safe is via Margaret Glendenning only. Researchers can only draw out that required for their individual experiment. Bottles must be returned to Stores by no later than 16:00hrs the same day.
It is also recommended that certain alkaloids and their derivatives, e.g. aconitine, brucine, ecgonine and atropine which do not appear on the Poisons List and digitoxin and digitonin, valinomycin and actinomycin D, are also kept locked away. Very toxic chemicals, i.e. those which have Lethal Dose Values LD50 (30 days) of less than 10mg/kg, should also be locked away at the end of each working day and tightly managed/controlled within the research laboratory.
The following is a list of Schedule 1 Poisons (PDF format)
For further information on any of the above; to apply for a Home Office licence; or to check that the relevant licence is already in place, contact Margaret Glendenning, the Departmental Safety Officer and Compliance Officer.