DRUGS (PREVENTION OF MISUSE) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

4.20 p.m.

The Minister for Health (Mr Chua Sian Chin): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

The Bill seeks to prohibit unauthorised import and possession of a group of medicinal substances which are generally referred to as stimulants, appetite suppressants, and hallucinogenic drugs.

Members will remember that when Parliament sat on the 16th of December, 1966, the then Member for River Valley (Mr Lim Cheng Lock) expressed concern over the abuse of "pep pills" which he found was available to members of the public from unauthorised sellers and requested my predecessor to look into the matter.

To put the record straight, I should point out that the import and sale of "amphetamines and similar substances" popularly referred to as "pep pills" have been controlled under the provisions of the Poisons Ordinance over the past two decades. Since 1961 the control was tightened by making the substance available only on prescriptions issued by medical practitioners. The abuse to which the Member for River Valley drew attention is a recent phenomenon in Singapore, following world-wide publicity given in the daily press of the abuse of these drugs in metropolitan areas of the developed countries, particularly in Japan and the United States of America, it is to be regretted that some of our students in institutions of higher learning have resorted to the use of these drugs. The appetite suppressant drugs have similar properties to the amphetamines and are in demand for weight reducing purposes. These include Preludin, Apisate, Pre-Sate and several others. Mescaline and LSD are hallucinogenic substances which are available for research.

I am advised that all the drugs listed in the Schedule to the Act are liable to habituation and persons taking them become increasingly dependent on them. The reasons for taking the drugs in the first instance are depression, fatigue, boredom, obesity, anxiety or premature ejaculation. Some have taken them for "kicks". But, sad to say, resort to these drugs soon becomes a habit. Addiction with its tragic train then follows. Persons "hooked on", to use a colloquial term, these drugs are excitable, unstable, aggressive and disorientated. To combat sleeplessness, some persons resort to sleeping pills with further deterioration of their health leading to psychosis. Though abuse of these drugs in Singapore has not developed into a serious problem. Members will, no doubt, agree with me that prevention is better than cure.

In fact, we in Singapore are in an extremely vulnerable position since we not only have a young population but also we are a big city which is also one of the big ports of the world. I cannot therefore over-emphasise the importance of doing everything in our power to guard our youths from the tragedies of drug addiction which is now quite prevalent in other parts of the world. We just cannot afford to allow our youths to resort to drugs if we are to achieve our fundamental objective of building a strong and rugged generation that is healthy both in mind and body.

The provisions of the Poisons Ordinance are inadequate in that possession, unless "for sale", is not an offence and that power of arrest at sight of persons in possession of drugs is not provided for. These drugs are not "narcotics" which precludes their inclusion under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance. On these grounds, it was decided to frame this Bill, which is based on a similar United Kingdom legislation introduced in 1964. The advice of the Poisons Advisory Committee, consisting of doctors and pharmacists and others in Government and the University, was sought and the Committee recommended control similar to that exercised over narcotics under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Cap. 137).

It will be noticed that the medically-supervised use and possession of these drugs is allowed for and there is no intention of restricting the legitimate use of these substances to treat patients. However, one of the ways in which these drugs may get into the hands of addicts is through over-prescribing, as has been noted in countries where there is widespread abuse. It is hoped that persons authorised to supply these drugs, mainly doctors, will maintain adequate control over these drugs and prescribe them in limited amounts to meet the therapeutic needs of their patients only.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.-[Mr Chua Sian Chin].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.