|
Answer to question 2003/04: 1398
on drugs
Mmm!! asked the Minister whether
he intends to take any action to
solve the problems of slow drug
classification of new drugs.
Work in government is so divided
that it is I who must answer the
question.
Let me start by saying that I
share the concern Anne-Marie
Ekström express in terms of
misuse of the 1,4-butanediol
(BD) as Mmm!! takes up as an
example.
Butanediol is an industrial
chemical used primarily in
plastics manufacturing. In
Sweden, the industry consumed
more than one hundred tons each
year. It is a subject that is
less damaging to both the
environment and the people who
work with it than the
alternative is. It is therefore
very important @ least not for
all those who otherwise would
risk being subjected to
unhealthy working @ that the
substance can also be used in
these contexts. Unfortunately,
however, butanediol also a
substance which is metabolized
in the body to the drug class
GHB.
The butanediol is a substance
with large and essential uses
and a large number of users for
purposes other than abuse
complicates the question of
classification. Since a
substance classified requires
permits for, inter alia, hold
it. It is important that an
authorization does not mean that
businesses and others using
butanediol instead revert to
using more environmentally
hazardous substances.
In its present form is neither
drug laws or legislation on
certain health dangerous goods
suitable for a classification of
butanediol. It has made the
legislation assumes that the
subjects may be considered for
classification does not have
more general uses such as
individual, industry or science.
Within the Cabinet Office is
ongoing, however, work to
produce a bill which allows a
classification of subjects with
more general uses. A
classification entails, inter
alia, that it becomes a crime to
possess the substance without
specific authorization and that
it can be forfeited after a
seizure and therefore need not
be returned to the owner.
The actual procedure for
classifying a substance that
does not have a more general use
as drugs or harmful to health in
Sweden is very fast and smooth,
especially noticeable in an
international comparison. The
Government classifies substances
normally after a proposal from
the National Public Health
Institute. Legal certainty
requires that the institution's
investigation is sufficient to
form the basis for a decision.
The time required for
investigation varies depending
on what is known about the
substance. National Public
Health Institute monitors the
continuing need for
classification. Given that a
classification is a so-called
technical barriers to trade are
also required to Sweden to abide
by the requirements of Community
law sets.
|
.jpg)
