On 24 February 2023, the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill (“MDA Bill“) and the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Bill were introduced for First Reading in Parliament. The proposed amendments to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1973 (“MDA“) and the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore seek to introduce a new legislative framework for psychoactive substances and increase the penalties for the possession of certain quantities of more dangerous and harmful controlled drugs. In so far as it concerns the reporting duty of medical practitioners, i.e. that they are required to report if they believe or has reasonable grounds to suspect that their client is a drug addict, this provision has remained unchanged.
New Legislative Framework for Psychoactive Substances
New psychoactive substances (“NPS“) are defined by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as substances of abuse which are not controlled by international drug control conventions but which may pose a public health threat. Under the existing law, NPS are listed as controlled drugs in the First Schedule of the MDA (“First Schedule“). The listing is based on their chemical structure. New forms of NPS are temporarily listed in the Fifth Schedule of the MDA (“Fifth Schedule“) for up to 12 months, during which time the Central Narcotics Bureau (“CNB“) officers are empowered to seize these so as to restrict their circulation while scientific studies and industry consultations are being conducted to determine their legitimate uses. If these substances are found not to have legitimate uses, they will then be listed in the First Schedule as controlled drugs.
In this current set-up, the authorities cannot prosecute traffickers and abusers who are quick to produce or switch to new forms of psychoactive substances during the interim period, i.e. from the time a new form of psychoactive substance is first detected and listed in the Fifth Schedule until it is classified as a controlled drug and listed in the First Schedule.
New legislative framework introduced by the MDA Bill
To address this gap, the MDA Bill introduces a new legislative framework to control psychoactive substances based on their capacity to produce a psychoactive effect, rather than on their specific chemical structure. The MDA Bill proposes to criminalise the trafficking, manufacture, importing, exporting, possession, and consumption of psychoactive substances, thereby allowing CNB officers to seize such substances that are not yet scheduled as controlled drugs, and prosecute offenders.
MDA Bill defines a psychoactive substance as a substance or product that has the “capacity to have a psychoactive effect on an individual if the individual smokes, administers to himself or herself or otherwise consumes, the substance or product”. Psychoactive effect means the “stimulation or depression, whether directly or indirectly, of an individual’s central nervous system, affecting the individual’s mental functioning or emotional state”.
The new legislative framework will not apply to excluded substances or psychoactive substances that have legitimate uses, such as alcohol, tobacco and food additives.
Enhanced Penalties for Possession of Large Quantities of More Dangerous and Harmful Controlled Drugs
It has been observed that syndicates are willing to deal in larger quantities of controlled drugs in each transaction, resulting in greater potential harm. In order to have a more deterrent effect, the MDA Bill proposes increased punishments, including caning, for the possession of large quantities of certain controlled drugs that are deemed to be more dangerous and harmful. These include morphine, diamorphine, opium, cocaine, cannabis, cannabis resin, cannabis mixture and methamphetamine.
Click on the following links for more information:
- MDA Bill (available on the Parliament of Singapore website at (www.parliament.gov.sg)
- Full text of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Bill (available on the Parliament of Singapore website at (www.parliament.gov.sg)
- Ministry of Home Affairs (“MHA“) Press Release titled “Amendments to the Misuse of Drugs Act and the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore to Introduce a New Legislative Framework for Psychoactive Substances” (available on the MHA website at www.mha.gov.sg)
