Drugs

Oral Answers to Questions — Home Department – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 5 March 1964.

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Photo of Mr Daniel Jones Mr Daniel Jones , Burnley 12:00, 5 March 1964

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in view of his recent consultations with the manufacturers of purple heart pills, what further action he proposes to take to control their sale to the public and particularly to young people.

Photo of Mr Henry Brooke Mr Henry Brooke , Hampstead

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Acton (Mr. Holland) on 27th February.

Photo of Mr Daniel Jones Mr Daniel Jones , Burnley

I studied that reply and found it to be quite unsatisfactory. May I ask the right hon. Gentleman if he is aware that I have discussed this problem with chemists and that they have assured me that these young people at the count-down, after being "blocked"—I use the colloquial term—are really pitiable creatures? Is he also aware that I have gone further into this matter and have analysed it with the help of documents in the Evening Standard library? Does he know that reputable journals come down heavily on one point; and why is it that the Home Secretary does not register these very dangerous drugs in the same way as he registers heroin and morphine under the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1951? Why is it that, in the face of this scourge, the Home Secretary is being so dilatory?

Photo of Mr Henry Brooke Mr Henry Brooke , Hampstead

I cannot understand the hon. Gentleman in criticising my announcement the other day, when said that I did not think that effective action could be taken under existing legislation. I have come to a conclusion on this matter and have decided to introduce fresh legislation to deal effectively with this menace.

Photo of Mr Reginald Sorensen Mr Reginald Sorensen , Leyton

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further reports he has received in respect of the possession, sale, usage and particular effects of marijuana, heroin and other similar narcotics and drugs; to what extent police action has been successful in repressing or diminishing offences involving these drugs; and what steps have been taken to encourage the acceptance of therapeutic treatment by those affected by them.

Photo of Mr Henry Brooke Mr Henry Brooke , Hampstead

I have not received any special report on these matters, but my Department is in continual touch with the enforcement authorities. It is not possible to say how far police action may have prevented offences being committed: the number of convictions for offences involving drugs controlled under the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1951, was 686 in 1963 compared with 675 in 1962. The treatment of a drug addict is a matter for the medical practitioner in charge of the case.

Photo of Mr Reginald Sorensen Mr Reginald Sorensen , Leyton

I thank the Home Secretary for that reply, but did I understand him to say earlier that he contemplated introducing legislation to deal with this traffic? Further, is any attempt being made, through boys' clubs and such organisations, to indicate the serious nature of drug addiction, and possible cures?

Photo of Mr Henry Brooke Mr Henry Brooke , Hampstead

I indicated that I intended to introduce legislation regarding the amphelamines and barbiturates, which are not drugs of addiction in the sense of the drugs mentioned in the Question, but I entirely agree that everything possible should be done through youth clubs and the like to bring home to young people the dangers of drifting into the habit of taking these things.

Photo of Mr Reginald Sorensen Mr Reginald Sorensen , Leyton

In that case, could not the right hon. Gentleman include drug addiction in the legislation he has already announced he will introduce?

Photo of Mr Henry Brooke Mr Henry Brooke , Hampstead

I think that the existing legislation is effective for drugs like heroin. A Dangerous Drugs Bill, which has already received its Second Reading and been referred to a Standing Committee, is concerned with tightening the law in respect of canabis, otherwise known as Indian hemp, and I now wish to introduce further legislation relating to "purple hearts"—the so-called "pep" pills.