About controlled drugs legislation

What is the international law for controlled drugs?

The United Nations (UN) Conventions on Narcotic drugs and Psychotropic substances form the basis of the law for controlled drugs around the world.

Ireland is party to:

• The 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
• The 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances

Under these, Ireland must make sure that controlled drugs are only used in medicine and science.

Ireland must also provide reports about controlled drugs to the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). The INCB implements the UN conventions around the world.

What is the law in Ireland for controlled drugs?

The legal act for controlled drugs in Ireland is the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977. The aim of the Act is to make sure that controlled drugs are available for medicine and science while also preventing their misuse or abuse. It has been amended several times by new legislation.

The Act prohibits the import, export, production, possession, sale, and/or supply of controlled drugs.

However, these activities are permitted if carried out under certain conditions that are set out in the law.

Under this Act, the Minister for Health can make regulations and orders for controlled drugs. This Act, and the regulations and orders that have been made under it, are called the Misuse of Drugs Legal Framework.

The regulations made under this Act describe the requirements for controlled drug operators. You can find information about where these requirements can be found in the legislation in the following sections.

The Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017

The Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017 are known as the Principal Regulations. They divide controlled drugs into five schedules. They also set out many of the requirements for controlled drugs, such as:

• To produce, supply, import, export, or possess a controlled drug.
• Documents and records that need to be kept for controlled drugs.
• How a controlled drug should be destroyed.
• The rules around what can be published about certain controlled drugs.
• Exemptions for certain medical professionals in their line of work.
• The rules around controlled drugs that a Nurse or Midwife can prescribe.

The Misuse of Drugs (Safe Custody) Regulations 1982

The Misuse of Drugs (Safe Custody) Regulations 1982 outline the requirements for the safes and cabinets that should be used for keeping controlled drugs.

The Misuse of Drugs (Licence Fees) Regulations 1979

The Misuse of Drugs (Licence Fees) Regulations 1979 outline the fees that should be paid to the Minister for Health for controlled drug licences.

There are many more Regulations and Orders that have been made for controlled drugs. These are listed in the table below.

Schedules of controlled drugs

The Misuse of Drugs Regulations divide controlled drugs into five schedules. This is based on their potential for abuse and how useful they are in medicine.

Controlled drugs in Schedule 1 have the most restrictions on them because of their strong potential for abuse and little, if any, value in medicine.

Controlled drugs in Schedule 5 have the least number of restrictions imposed on them.

Depending on the activity, and what schedule the controlled drug is in, a licence may be required.

To learn more about controlled drug licences, please go to our Licences page.

Additions to the schedules

New drugs can be added to the schedules to make them controlled drugs. Click on the relevant year below for more information.