In the United Kingdom the Dangerous Drugs Act 1920 is an Act which changed to a penal offence

drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use oft ...

which up to then was, within the medical profession, treated as a disease. The former was the view held by the then Assistant Under Secretary of State, Malcolm Delevingne. The Home Office was charged with implementing the Act.Heroin Addiction care and control: The British System, HB Spear, p.33 In January 1921 the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all nationa ...

gave 40 days' notice of his intention to issue controls over: *

raw opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy '' Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which ...

morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies ('' Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a pain medication, and is also commonly used recreationally, or to make other illicit opioids. T ...

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Am ...

* ecgonine and *

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and bro ...

. The Act also said that the export, import, sale, distribution or possession of

barbiturate Barbiturates are a class of depressant drugs that are chemically derived from barbituric acid. They are effective when used medically as anxiolytics, hypnotics, and anticonvulsants, but have physical and psychological addiction potential a ...

s, had to be licensed or authorised by the Home Secretary. This proviso also applied to dilutions of cocaine and morphine, as defined in the lower limits set by the Hague Convention. The Home Office, in consultation with the Ministry of Health, as a result of this Act, produced a series of memoranda for doctors and dentists to explain the requirements of the Act. These were known as DD 101's (Memoranda as to the Duties of Doctors and Dentists). These were distributed to doctors, although the memorandi never had any statutory power. One particular memorandum, in 1938, added, for the first time, ''that maintenance of addicts if only for the 'gratification of addiction is not regarded as a medical need.Heroin Addiction care and control: The British System, HB Spear, p.34

References

{{Reflist United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1920 Drug control law in the United Kingdom English criminal law Substance dependence