(This note is not part of the Order)
Section 7(3) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 requires regulations to be made to allow the use for medical purposes of the drugs which are subject to control under that Act. Section 7(3) does not apply to any drug designated by order under section 7(4) as a drug to which section 7(4) is to apply. This Order amends the Misuse of Drugs (Designation) Order (Northern Ireland) 2001 by inserting a synthetic opioid (U-47,700), several methylphenidate related materials and a number of designer benzodiazepines and the drug known as methiopropamine or MPA, into Part 1 of the Schedule to that Order; it also inserts a range of synthetic cannabinoids into Part 1 of the Schedule to that Order (which specifies the list of controlled drugs to which section 7(4) of the 1971 Act applies), excluding those synthetic cannabinoids which are already specified at sub-paragraphs (h) to (s), two other compounds which are not required to be designated (clonitazene and etonitazene), and several other compounds that have legitimate medical uses (acemetacin, atorvastatin, bazedoxifene, indomethacin, losartan, olmesartan, proglumetacin, telmisartan,viminol and zafirlukast).