COMMENT | Putting poison in the Poisons Act

COMMENT | The Poisons Act 1952 (Amendment) Bill 2022 being tabled for its second reading in Parliament has the hidden potential to disrupt the present delivery of medical care. What this bill does is to lump bona fide use of medicines with criminal trafficking of drugs.

The objective of the original Poison Act 1952 is to regulate the importation, possession, manufacture, compounding, storage, transport, sale and use of poisons. It was not designed to regulate the worldwide criminal use and abuse of registered substances in particular psychotropics and precursors. These criminal activities should always be dealt with with appropriate laws and under the Penal Code.

Since its enactment...