PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES A Guide to Ethnobotanical Plants and Herbs, Synthetic Chemicals, Compounds and Products. Acknowledgements: Acknowledgement: This Guide was compiled by Sinead O’Mahony Carey, Drug Education Officer, Substance Misuse Service South Tipperary. The Substance Misuse Service would like to thank Aine de Leastar, Anne-Marie Dunne and Karen O’Loughlin for their contribution and endless hours of research and referencing. Health Service Executive South Psychoactive Substances Manual (Edition 1.1) Compiled by: Sinead O’Mahony Carey Drug Education Officer Substance Misuse Service 11-12 Peter St., Clonmel. (052) 6177900 Graphic Design: Leo McCormack (Swift Design - 087 6499990) Introduction The ‘Guide to Ethnobotanical Plants and Herbs, Synthetic Chemicals, Compounds and Products’ available to the Irish Market has been collated and designed by the Drug Education Officer and team in the Substance Misuse Service HSE, South Tipperary. This edition is a follow on to ‘A Guide to Substance Misuse for Medical Professionals’ launched in November 2009. This Guide has been produced in response to requests from workers, users, medical professionals and academics for information on the emerging issue of legal herbal highs, plants and chemical alternatives available to buy in shops and online. Legal highs, legal alternatives and natural highs have become a world wide phenomenon in recent years both here in Ireland and on the International stage. The current concern for users, parents and professionals working with people using and misusing Psychoactive Substances is their after effects and how they can negatively impact on the body and mind. A Psychoactive Substance is a drug (any substance that changes the way a body and mind feels acts or thinks) that is not controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977-84 and is therefore legal to use and possess. Legal and high together can be misleading because the majority of the substances are regulated under the Medicines Act which makes it illegal to sell, supply or advertise them for human consumption. Hence the advertisement on some products sold legally sates not for human consumption- plant feeder. Many suppliers and manufacturers also sell products as “bath salts” or “incense”. This is a way of sellers getting around drugs laws. Psychoactive Substances are sold with some ingredients not listed, no ingredients listed at all or ingredients with any information available. The high level of danger these substances have and may cause to human health is causing concern across the country. The ingredients in products sold come from three main sources: • Ethno-botanical psychoactive plants and herbs • Chemicals – mainly used for research purposes • Compounds- which are gelling agents used to bind the products The Psychoactive plants used in legal high products are mainly benign in their own right but when certain alkaloids and extracts are procured they will provide one of four classifications of psychactivity: • Stimulant • Hallucinogenic • Depressant • Aphrodisiac Other ingredients included in products such as chemical based compounds are designed in the main to research specific elements of drug use JWH-018 is an example of this. These chemicals are cannabimimetic compounds or synthetic cannabinoids which were developed originally as potential painkilling drugs, yet are included in many Spice and smoke products. The purpose of this publish is to dispel some myths and to provide as accurate information as possible to date of this publication going to print. The aim of the guide is to facilitate detailed information on Psychoactive Substances and alternatives in Ireland. • The objective of the guide is to provide an easy access quick reference, • To include relevant up to date Psychoactive Substances facts and information. • To provide the legal status and scheduling of all legal highs available in Ireland in shops and on line. • We would like to thank and acknowledge those who reviewed the Guide at different stages of its inception; they include Dr. Des Corrigan, NACD and Brian Roberts - Garda Narcotics Unit. Disclaimer: The Substance Misuse Service HSE South Tipperary has endeavoured to ensure that all information contained within the Guide is accurate at the time of publishing. However the Guide is detailing with substances that have no strict controls and ingredients are subject to change. Psychoactive Substances Drug Laws Drug Drug Laws The introduction The availability of drugs in Ireland is legally controlled through a number of statutes. This chapter will give you an overview of the key statutes and their provisions. The 1947 Health Act The 1947 Health Act permits the Minister for Health to make regulations to control the sale of medical preparations. Several such regulations exist. The Medical Preparations (Control of Sale) Regulations restrict the sale of a wide range of drugs to pharmacists only. The regulations are comprised of fi ve schedules. Drugs listed in either part of the fi rst schedule may only be made available by retail sale on medical, dental or veterinary prescription. This schedule includes amphetamine-type stimulants and barbiturate sedatives, as well as various minor tranquillizers of the diazepam type, all of which are also subjected to other far more stringent controls. The second schedule lists substances such as oral contraceptives. The third schedule includes medicines that a pharmacist may not supply under the ‘emergency supply’ regulations for example barbiturates, which are controlled by the Misuse of Drugs Act. The fourth schedule lists cautionary warning notices that should appear on dispensed medicines. For example, various anti-histamine drugs used to combat hay fever, prevent travel sickness and included in some cough bottles may cause drowsiness. Accordingly, the latter type of product must bear a warning that’ this may cause drowsiness: The fi fth schedule contains substances which cannot be supplied by a pharmacist in an emergency at a patient’s request but which may be supplied at the request of a G.P. The 1961 Poisons Act The 1961 Poisons Act controls the sale of poisons by confi rming their sale to authorized sellers, which are mainly pharmacists. Most recognized drugs of misuse are controlled in this way, but are also subject to further more stringent legal controls. Medical Preparations (Control of Amphetamines) Regulations 1970 The Medical Preparations (Control of Amphetamines) Regulations 1970 prohibit the manufacture, preparation, importation, sale or distribution of seven scheduled amphetamine (‘speed’) type drugs. The Minister for Health may grant licenses for the manufacture, importation or sale of a specifi ed quantity of controlled preparation when it is needed for certain medical conditions. Misuse of Drugs Acts 1977 & 1984. The Misuse of Drugs Acts is intended to prevent the non-medical use of drugs. For this reason, they control not just medicinal drugs but also drugs with no current medical use. Off ences involving the general public are covered under these Acts. The drugs to which the Acts apply are specifi ed in the schedules to the Act and are known as controlled drugs. The list includes, in addition to opiates such as heroin, other substances such as sedatives, stimulants and hallucinogenic drugs which are liable to misuse. 6 Section 1 - Drug Laws The Acts defi ne a series of off ences relating to controlled drugs including — • unlawful supply • intent to supply • the import or export Drug Laws Drug • the unlawful production • the growing of opium poppies, cannabis and coca plants • the forging of prescriptions • the occupiers of premises knowingly allowing illicit traffi c in drugs • The occupiers of premises permitting the use of controlled drugs on their premises. The Acts also prohibit the unlawful possession of drugs, but make a distinction between possession for one’s own personal use and possession for illegal supply to another person (‘pushing’). This latter off ence carries much heavier penalties. It should be noted that the phrase used in Section 15 is “Sale or Supply’ which can mean in eff ect sharing drugs with colleagues or friends. In other words the common perception is that to be guilty of pushing drugs, money has to change hands. This is not true from a legal point of view. To enforce this law, the Gardai have special search powers to stop, detain, and search people and vehicles without a warrant if they have ‘reasonable cause’ to believe that someone is in possession of a controlled drug. Customs and Excise offi cers have similar powers under the Customs and Excise (Miscellaneous Provisions) to request searches by a medical practitioner acting at the request of a Customs Offi cer, in order to detect smuggling of drugs in body cavities so-called ‘stuff ers and swalIowers. The Misuse of Drugs Act 1984 prohibits the printing, or sale of books or magazines that encourage the use of drugs proscribed in the Act or which contain advertisements for drug equipment, pipes or cocaine kits. Maximum sentences diff er according to the nature of the off ence. Sentences are greater for pushing, illegal production or for allowing premises to be used for producing or supplying drugs, but are less for possession for one’s own use. For the more serious off ences, maximum penalties include life imprisonment or an open-ended fi ne. In the case of cannabis, on the other hand, the maximum penalty for possession for personal use is restricted to a €381 fi ne for a fi rst off ence tried in the District Court a €635 fi ne on indictment, €508 fi ne for a second off ence with no option of imprisonment. If this second off ence is tried before a judge and jury, the maximum fi ne is €1,270 or 12 months in jail or both. The penalty for a third off ence tried by judge and jury is an open-ended fi ne or three years in jail, or both. It’s only the possession of cannabis and marijuana that attracts a money fi ne for possession.