UK. Consultation outcome: Pregabalin and gabapentin: proposal to schedule under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 Detail of outcome
UK. Consultation outcome: Pregabalin and gabapentin: proposal to schedule under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001
Detail of outcome
On 13 November 2017, the Home Office asked for views on options whether, and how, to schedule pregabalin and gabapentin under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001. This followed the recommendation by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) that pregabalin and gabapentin should be controlled as Class C drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (‘the 1971 Act’) and placed in Schedule 3 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001. The consultation lasted until 22 January 2018 and was UK-wide.
Responses were accepted from members of the public, healthcare professionals, institutions, all sectors within the supply chain including the pharmaceutical industry, wholesalers, and community pharmacies in the UK.
The Home Office is grateful for the views of those who responded to the consultation. On balance, the government is of the view that option 2 – to schedule the drugs under Schedule 3 to the 2001 Regulations but without the safe custody requirements – provides appropriate and necessary safeguards while ensuring that there are not unduly onerous storage requirements for pharmacists, wholesalers and others. (Home Office, UK, 15.10.2018)