4AAggravation of offence of supply of controlled drug

1

This section applies if—

a

a court is considering the seriousness of an offence under section 4(3) of this Act, and

b

at the time the offence was committed the offender had attained the age of 18.

2

If either of the following conditions is met the court—

a

must treat the fact that the condition is met as an aggravating factor (that is to say, a factor that increases the seriousness of the offence), and

b

must state in open court that the offence is so aggravated.

3

The first condition is that the offence was committed on or in the vicinity of school premises at a relevant time.

4

The second condition is that in connection with the commission of the offence the offender used a courier who, at the time the offence was committed, was under the age of 18.

5

In subsection (3), a relevant time is—

a

any time when the school premises are in use by persons under the age of 18;

b

one hour before the start and one hour after the end of any such time.

6

For the purposes of subsection (4), a person uses a courier in connection with an offence under section 4(3) of this Act if he causes or permits another person (the courier)—

a

to deliver a controlled drug to a third person, or

b

to deliver a drug related consideration to himself or a third person.

7

For the purposes of subsection (6), a drug related consideration is a consideration of any description which—

a

is obtained in connection with the supply of a controlled drug, or

b

is intended to be used in connection with obtaining a controlled drug.

8

In this section—

• “school premises” means land used for the purposes of a school excluding any land occupied solely as a dwelling by a person employed at the school; and

• “school” has the same meaning—

  1. a

     in England and Wales, as in section 4 of the Education Act 1996;

  2. b

     in Scotland, as in section 135(1) of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980;

  3. c

     in Northern Ireland, as in Article 2(2) of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986.