Misuse of Drugs Act, 1977

• Permanent Page URL

Amendment of Poisons Act, 1961.

33.—(1) The Poisons Act, 1961 , shall be amended as follows:

(a) section 4 (1) is hereby amended by—

(i) the addition of “and one of whom is a person with knowledge and experience of the manufacture of preparations containing poisons” to paragraph (b), and

(ii) the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (c),

“(cc) one person who is a fellow, ordinary member or licentiate of the Institute of Chemistry of Ireland,”;

(b) section 14 (3) is hereby amended by the substitution of the following paragraphs for paragraphs (j) to (l):

“(j) provide for the enforcement and execution of the provisions of the regulations—

(i) by officers of the Minister,

(ii) with the consent of the Minister for Agriculture, by officers of that Minister,

(iii) by the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland and its officers, and

(iv) by health boards and their officers,

(k) enable any such officer (with, in the case of an officer of the Minister or the Minister for Agriculture, a written authorisation of whichever of those Ministers is appropriate, in the case of an officer of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland, a written authorisation of that Society, and in the case of an officer of a health board, a written authorisation of the board), at all reasonable times, for the purpose of ascertaining whether or not there is or has been a contravention of the regulations, to enter premises of a class or description specified in the regulations and to inspect any substance or article which is so specified and require the production of and inspect, and if he thinks fit take copies of any entry in, any book, record or other document which is of a class or description so specified,

(l) provide for the taking (without payment) by such officers, with such authorisation, of samples of poisons or such substances for test, examination or analysis,

(m) prescribe the certificate or other evidence to be given of the result of any such test, examination or analysis and the classes of person by whom such certificate or evidence is to be given,

(n) provide that any certificate or other evidence specified under paragraph (m) of this subsection and given in respect of the test, examination or analysis of a sample shall with regard to that sample be evidence for all purposes of the result,

(o) provide for the prosecution of offences under section 17 of this Act in relation to the regulations by the Minister, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland or health boards, and

(p) provide for matters ancillary to the foregoing matters.”;

(c) the following new section is hereby inserted after section 15:

“Evidence of result of certain tests, examinations or analyses.

15A.—Whenever regulations made under this Act provide that a certificate or other evidence is to be evidence for all purposes of a result of a test, examination or analysis of a sample, such certificate or other evidence shall until the contrary is shown, in relation to that sample, be accepted by a court as sufficient evidence of the result of the test, examination or analysis.”.

(2) Regulations under section 14 or section 15 of the Poisons Act, 1961 , may provide that a substance which is declared to be a poison for the purposes of those regulations or a provision thereof, shall, for the purposes of whichever of the said sections is appropriate and the regulations or provision to which the declaration relates, be regarded in circumstances specified in the regulations as not being the subject of the declaration.