Australian Capital Territory

public health (Prohibited drugs) act 
1957
This consolidation has been prepared by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel’s Office
Reprinted as at 31 March 1999
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Section
	1.	Short title
	2.	Interpretation
	4.	Manufacture, use, possession etc of prohibited drugs
	5.	Search warrants
	6. 	Destruction of prohibited drugs delivered to chief health officer
	6A.	Authority to possess prohibited drugs for research purposes
	6B.	Review of decisions of the board
	6C.	Notification of decisions
	7.	Regulations
Schedule
Substances that are Prohibited Drugs

An Act to prohibit the manufacture, use, sale, distribution and possession of prohibited drugs, and for other purposes
1. 	Short title
	This Act may be cited as the Public Health (Prohibited Drugs) Act 1957.1
2. 	Interpretation
	In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—
“chief health officer” means the Chief Health Officer under the Public Health Act 1997;
“prohibited drug” means—
	(a)	a substance the name of which is specified in the Schedule;
	(b)	a substance of a kind specified in the Schedule; or
	(c)	goods that consist in part of a substance the name of which is specified in the Schedule or a substance of a kind specified in the Schedule.
4. 	Manufacture, use, possession etc of prohibited drugs
(1) 	A person shall not manufacture, prepare, use, sell, dispose of or have in his or her possession a prohibited drug.
Penalty:
	(a)	if the offender is a natural person—50 penalty units or imprisonment for 6 months, or both;
	(b)	if the offender is a body corporate—250 penalty units.
5. 	Search warrants
(1) 	If a magistrate is satisfied by information on oath that there is reasonable ground for suspecting that a prohibited drug is on any premises or at any place, he or she may grant a search warrant authorising a member of the police force of the Territory named in the warrant, with such assistance as he or she thinks necessary, to enter, if need be by force, at any time or times within 1 month from the date of the warrant, upon the premises or place named or described in the warrant, and to search the premises or place and any person found on the premises or place, and to seize and carry away any prohibited drugs found on the premises or place or in the possession of any person on the premises or place.
(2) 	A person who seizes a prohibited drug in pursuance of subsection  (1) shall deliver the drug to the chief health officer.
6. 	Destruction of prohibited drugs delivered to chief health officer
	A prohibited drug delivered to the chief health officer under this Act shall be destroyed by a person authorised by the chief health officer in such manner as the chief health officer directs.
6A. 	Authority to possess prohibited drugs for research purposes
(1) 	The Minister may, by instrument, authorise a person who is engaged in scientific or medical research to have in his or her possession a specified prohibited drug for the purposes of research.
(2) 	An authority under subsection (1) is subject to such conditions and restrictions (if any) as are specified in the authority.
(3) 	A person to whom an authority under subsection (1) has been granted shall comply with such conditions and restrictions as are specified in the authority for the purpose of subsection (2).
Penalty:  50 penalty units.
(4) 	While an authority granted under subsection (1) remains in force, the person to whom the authority was granted does not commit an offence against subsection 4 (1) by reason only of preparing, having in his or her possession or using a prohibited drug specified in the authority.
6B. 	Review of decisions of the board
	Application may be made to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of a decision of the Minister—
	(a)	refusing to authorise a person under subsection 6A (1);
	(b)	specifying a condition or restriction to which an authority under subsection 6A (1) is subject; or
	(c)	revoking, amending or varying an instrument under subsection 6A (1).
6C. 	Notification of decisions
(1) 	Where a decision of a kind referred to in section 6B is made, the Minister shall cause notice of the decision to be given to a person whose interests are affected by the decision.
(2) 	A notice under subsection (1) shall be in accordance with the requirements of the code of practice in force under subsection 25B (1) of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1989.
7. 	Regulations
	The Executive may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters which by this Act are required or permitted to be prescribed, or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.

	Schedule	Section 2
Allylisopropylacetylurea
Aminophenazone
Derivatives of aminophenazone
Amygdalin
Buclosamide
Buniodyl sodium
Dulcin
Methyl cinchophen
Oxyphenisatin
Acetyl derivatives of oxyphenisatin
Triparanol

NOTES
1.	The Public Health (Prohibited Drugs) Act 1957 in this reprint is Act No. 9, 1957 amended as indicated in the Tables below.
2.	The Legislation (Republication) Act 1996 (No. 51, 1996) authorises the Parliamentary Counsel in preparing a law for republication, to make certain editorial and other formal amendments in accordance with current legislative drafting practice.  The amendments do not change the law.  Amendments made under the Act do not appear in the Table of Amendments but details may be obtained on request from the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office.
Table 1
Table of Ordinances
Ordinance	Number  
and year	Date of 
notification 
in Gazette	Date of 
commencement	Application, saving or transitional provisions	

Public Health (Prohibited Drugs) Ordinance 1957	9, 1957	3 Oct 1957	3 Oct 1957		
Ordinances Revision (Decimal Currency) Ordinance 1966	19, 1966	23 Dec 1966	23 Dec 1966	—	
Ordinances Revision (Health Commission) Ordinance 1975	17, 1975	1 July 1975	1 July 1975	—	
Public Health (Prohibited Drugs) Ordinance 1975	37, 1975	24 Oct 1975	24 Oct 1975	—	
Public Health (Prohibited Drugs) Ordinance 1977	39, 1977	24 Aug 1977	24 Aug 1977	—	
Public Health (Prohibited Drugs) (Amendment) Ordinance 1978	23, 1978	29 Aug 1978	29 Aug 1978	—	
Public Health (Prohibited Drugs) (Amendment) Ordinance (No. 2) 1978	40, 1978	19 Dec 1978	29 Dec 1978 (see s. 3 and Gazette 1978, No. S290)	—	
Ordinances Revision Ordinance 1978	46, 1978	28 Dec 1978	28 Dec 1978	—	
Magistrates Court Ordinance 1985	67, 1985	19 Dec 1985	1 Feb 1986 (see Gazette 1986, No. G3, p. 265)	—	
Community and Health Service (Consequential Provisions) Ordinance 1988	29, 1988	30 June 1988	2 July 1988	S. 4	
Public Health (Prohibited Drugs) (Amendment) Ordinance 1988	95, 1988	20 Dec 1988	21 Dec 1988 (see Gazette 1988, No. S401)	—	
Self-Government (Consequential Amendments) Ordinance 1989	38, 1989	10 May 1989	Ss. 1 and 2:  10 May 1989
Remainder:  11 May 1989 (see s. 2 (2) and Gazette 1989, No. S164)
	—	
Self-Government day 11 May 1989
Table 2
Table of Acts
Act	Number  
and year	Date of 
notification 
in Gazette	Date of 
commencement	Application, saving or transitional provisions	

Health Services (Consequential Provisions) Act 1990	63, 1990	28 Dec 1990	Ss. 1 and 2:  28 Dec 1990
Remainder:  1 Jan 1991 (see 
s. 2 (2) and Gazette 1991, No. S4)	Ss. 6-17	
Health (Consequential Provisions) Act 1993	14, 1993	1 Mar 1993	1 Mar 1993 (see s. 2)	Parts IV-VI (ss. 14-34)	
(Reprinted as at 31 January 1994)	
Administrative Appeals (Consequential Amendments) Act 1994	60, 1994	11 Oct 1994	Ss. 1 and 2:  11 Oct 1994
Remainder:  14 Nov 1994 (see 
s. 2 (2) and Gazette 1994, No. S250)	—	
Public Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1997	70, 1997	9 Oct 1997	Ss. 41 and 43 (1): 13 Aug 1998 (see Gazette 1998, No. S185) 	S. 41	
Statute Law Revision (Penalties) Act 1998	54, 1998	27 Nov 1998	Ss. 1 and 2:  27 Nov 1998
Remainder:  9 Dec 1998 (see Gazette 1998, No. 49, p. 1078)
	—	
Table of Amendments
ad. = added or inserted      am. = amended     rep. = repealed      rs. = repealed and substituted

Provision	How affected

S. 2	am. Nos. 17 and 37, 1975; Nos. 40 and 46, 1978; No. 67, 1985; No. 29, 1988; Act No. 63, 1990; No. 14, 1993; No. 70, 1997
S. 3	rep. No. 37, 1975
S. 4	am. No. 19, 1966; Nos. 17 and 37, 1975; No. 40, 1978; Act No. 54, 1998
S. 5	am. No. 17, 1975; No. 29, 1988; Act No. 63, 1990; No. 70, 1997
S. 6	am. No. 17, 1975; No. 39, 1977; No. 29, 1988; Act No. 63, 1990; No. 70, 1997
S. 6A	ad. No. 39, 1977
	am. No. 29, 1988; Act No. 63, 1990; No. 14, 1993; No. 54, 1998
S. 6B	ad. No. 23, 1978
	am. No. 29, 1988; Act No. 63, 1990; No. 14, 1993
S. 6C	ad. Act No. 60, 1994
S. 7	am. No. 38, 1989
Schedule	ad. No. 37, 1975
	rs. No. 40, 1978
	am. No. 95, 1988