Laws have to be written very carefully so that no one can make mistakes about their precise meaning. When you write about or talk about the law you have to use exactly the right word (or term) to describe something. Sometime the meaning of these words may be different from the everyday meanings of the words. To help you understand some of these legal terms they appear in red and have hot links to them. This means that all you need to do is click on the red words and the computer will tell you what they mean. There are quite a lot of them so you may like to click on each of them before you start reading about illegal drugs.

ILLEGAL DRUGS (Illegal means against the law.)
It is legal to use drugs like caffeine and Aspirin but illegal to use drugs like heroin and cocaine. There are other drugs which can be legal in some circumstances and illegal in others.

The Law
The 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act is the main law controlling the use of drugs. The Act (the Act of Parliament - a law decided by our MPs) divides illegal drugs into three classes: A, B, and C. Drugs in Class A are thought to be the most dangerous. People who use class A drugs run the risk of receiving the longest prison sentences (a prison sentence is the time the judge or magistrate says an offender must spend in prison).

There are two other important laws about drugs. The Medicines Act controls the way medicines are made and supplied. The Intoxicating Substances Supply Act controls the sale of volatile substances (gases, glues and aerosols) to people under18 years old.

Drugs Offences (Someone commits an offence when they do something that is against the law.)
Different police forces have different ways of dealing with people caught for being in possession of illegal drugs. (Being in possession means being caught with a small amount of drugs on them - just enough for their own use.) Sometime the police just give them a warning, sometime they caution them (A caution is more serious than a warning and means that if the person is caught again they will be prosecuted), and sometimes they prosecute. (Prosecute means that the police take the accused to court.) If a young person is caught with drugs their parents or carers have to go to the police station. To supply (Supply means selling or giving illegal drugs to someone and is illegal. It is also against the law to intend to supply illegal drugs or to agree to do it or even to pretend to supply them.) illegal drugs to someone else is more serious offence than possession. Another drugs offence is driving or being in charge of a motor vehicle when unfit through drug use. This is covered by the 1988 Road Traffic Act.

Penalties
Prison sentences for drugs offences can be very severe and vary with the class of drug and with whether or not the offender (An offender is someone who breaks the law) supplied the drugs to anyone else.

Maximum sentences for drugs offences:

Class of illegal drug	For Possession		For Supply
	Sentence	Fine	Sentence	Fine
	7 years
	5 years		14 years
	2 years		5 years

(Life imprisonment means a maximum of twenty-five years imprisonment. It does not mean that the prisoner has to spend the rest of his or her life in prison.)

The table shows the maximum prison sentences for possessing and supplying drugs. Young people are not usually given maximum sentences, especially for first offences. If a person is found guilty of a drugs offence they it goes on their criminal record. (The police keep a record of people who have been found guilty of breaking the criminal law.) Criminal records can affect people's careers and some countries do not allow visitors with criminal records. People who work with children have to have a police check and may not be allowed to do so if they have a criminal record. Having a criminal record does not take away a persons vote but prisoners are not allowed to vote.

Children
Children over the age of ten are thought by the law to be capable of committing a criminal offence. In England and Wales, a special Youth Court deals with young offenders, between ten and seventeen years old. If found guilty of a drugs crime, they may be sent to a Young Offenders Institution. Alternatively they may be given the chance to get help to stop using drugs.




It is an offence (Offence means against the law) to give alcohol to a child under five. In England, children of any age can enter parts of licensed premises (places which hold a license allowing them to sell alcohol legally), including the bar where a landlord has requested a special licence (although children must leave the bar area by 8pm). At age 14 children can enter the bar of licensed premises, but not until age 18 can they drink alcohol there. Also at 18 they can legally buy alcohol in a pub, bar or from an off-licence. At 16 it is possible for young people to buy beer or cider if it is accompanying a substantial table meal.


Amphetamines are usually Class B drugs, but in injectable form they become Class A, and are illegal unless you have them on prescription.

A number of anabolic steroids are Class C drugs. This means that they're only available on prescription for medical use. It is not an offence to be found in possession of them in small quantities, but possession with intention to supply to others is an offence.


Cannabis is a Class B drug.


Cocaine and Crack are Class A drugs.


Ecstasy is a Class A drug.


Heroin is a Class A drug.


LSD is a Class A drug.


Possession of fresh Liberty Cap mushrooms is not illegal, but as soon as they are 'prepared' which could include simply crushing them, they become a class A drug. The Fly Agaric is uncontrolled by law.


It's not illegal to have or use poppers although under the Medicines Act, it may be illegal to sell them.


Selling any tobacco products to children under 16 is prohibited (Prohibited means not allowed). All retailers selling tobacco have to display prominently a notice about not selling to children.


Tranquillisers are a Class C drug, only available on prescription for medical use. Apart from tempazepam, it's not illegal to possess them without a prescription, but it's illegal to supply them or sell them to others.


(gasses, glues and aerosols)
It's not illegal to misuse volatile substances, but it's illegal for people to sell them to someone they know is under 18 years old and going to use them to sniff. It is illegal to sell butane lighter fuel to anyone under 18.