Misuse of Drugs Act 1973

Misuse of Drugs Act 1973 2020 REVISED EDITION This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021 An Act for the control of dangerous or otherwise harmful drugs and substances and for purposes connected therewith. [7 July 1973] PART 1 PRELIMINARY Short title 1. This Act is the Misuse of Drugs Act 1973. Interpretation 2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires — “aircraft” has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Air Navigation Act 1966; “approved institution” means any institution or place declared by the Minister to be an approved institution under section 35; “article liable to seizure” means any money, thing, controlled equipment or controlled material by means of or in respect of which an offence under this Act has been committed or which contains or constitutes evidence of an offence under this Act; [Act 12 of 2023 wef 01/06/2023] “autonomous system”, in relation to a motor vehicle or vessel, means a system that enables the operation of the motor vehicle or vessel without the active physical control of, or monitoring by, a human operator; “autonomous vehicle” means a motor vehicle equipped wholly or substantially with an autonomous system (also commonly known as a driverless vehicle), and includes a trailer drawn by such a motor vehicle; “cannabis” means any part of a plant of the genus Cannabis, or any part of such plant, by whatever name it is called; “cannabis mixture” means any mixture of vegetable matter containing tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabinol in any quantity; “cannabis resin” means any substance containing resinous material and in which is found tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabinol in any quantity; “Class A drug”, “Class B drug” and “Class C drug” mean any of the substances and products for the time being specified in Parts 1, 2 and 3 of the First Schedule, respectively; “Commissioner of Prisons” means the Commissioner of Prisons appointed under section 20 of the Prisons Act 1933; “committee of inquiry” means a committee of inquiry convened under section 41; “community rehabilitation centre” means any place declared by the Minister as such under section 35; “controlled drug” means any substance or product which is for the time being specified in Part 1, 2 or 3 of the First Schedule or anything that contains any such substance or product; “controlled equipment, controlled material or controlled substance” means any equipment, material or substance, respectively, specified in the Third Schedule; “corresponding law” means a law stated in a certificate purporting to be issued by or on behalf of the government of a country outside Singapore to be a law providing for the control and regulation in that country of — (a) the production, supply, use, export and import of drugs and other substances in accordance with the provisions of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs signed at New York on 30 March 1961; or (b) the production, supply, use, export and import of dangerous or otherwise harmful drugs pursuant to any treaty, convention or other agreement or arrangement to which the government of that country and the Government of Singapore are for the time being parties; “Director” means the Director of the Central Narcotics Bureau appointed under section 3(1); “drug addict” means a person who, through the use of any controlled drug or psychoactive substance, has developed — (a) a desire or need to continue to take that controlled drug or psychoactive substance; or [Act 12 of 2023 wef 01/06/2024] (b) a psychological or physical dependence upon the effect of that controlled drug or psychoactive substance; [Act 12 of 2023 wef 01/06/2024] “excluded substance” means a substance specified in the Fifth Schedule; [Act 12 of 2023 wef 01/06/2024] “Health Sciences Authority” means the Health Sciences Authority established under the Health Sciences Authority Act 2001; “Home Team Science and Technology Agency” means the Home Team Science and Technology Agency established by section 3 of the Home Team Science and Technology Agency Act 2019; [Act 12 of 2023 wef 01/06/2024] “immigration officer” has the meaning given by the Immigration Act 1959; “inmate” means a person who is detained in an approved institution or a community rehabilitation centre pursuant to an order made under section 34; [Act 9 of 2026 wef 01/05/2026] “manufacture”, in relation to — (a) a controlled drug, includes any process of producing the drug and the refining or transformation of one drug into another; [Act 12 of 2023 wef 01/06/2024] (b) a controlled substance, includes any process of producing the substance and the refining or transformation of one substance into another; or [Act 12 of 2023 wef 01/06/2024] (c) a psychoactive substance, includes any process of producing the substance and the refining or transformation of one substance into another; [Act 12 of 2023 wef 01/06/2024] “officer of customs” has the meaning given by the Customs Act 1960; “officer of the Bureau” means the Director or any person appointed under section 3 as a Deputy Director, a Divisional Director or an officer of the Central Narcotics Bureau; “opium” means any substance containing in any quantity morphine and one or more of the following, namely, codeine, narcotine, papaverine and thebaine but does not include poppy-straw which is not mixed in any such substance; “permanent resident of Singapore” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Immigration Act 1959; [Act 31 of 2023 wef 01/12/2025] “place” includes — (a) any building or structure, whether permanent or temporary; (b) any land, whether or not built on; (c) any place, whether or not enclosed, and whether or not situated underground or underwater; (d) any vessel, aircraft, train, or vehicle (whether mechanically propelled or otherwise) or any other means of transport; and (e) any part of any place mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (d); “police officer” has the meaning given by the Police Force Act 2004; “prison officer” has the meaning given by the Prisons Act 1933; “psychoactive effect” means the stimulation or depression, whether directly or indirectly, of an individual’s central nervous system, affecting the individual’s mental functioning or emotional state; [Act 12 of 2023 wef 01/06/2024] “psychoactive substance” — (a) means a substance or product that has the capacity to have a psychoactive effect on an individual if the individual smokes, administers to himself or herself or otherwise consumes, the substance or product; but (b) does not include an excluded substance; [Act 12 of 2023 wef 01/06/2024] “regulations” means any regulations made under this Act; “Review Committee”, in relation to an approved institution, means the Review Committee appointed for the institution under section 37; “senior officer of customs” has the meaning given by the Customs Act 1960; “special police officer” means a member of the Special Constabulary constituted under Part 8 of the Police Force Act 2004; “specified drug”, except for the purposes of the Second Schedule, means a drug specified in the Fourth Schedule; “traffic” means — (a) to sell, give, administer, transport, send, deliver or distribute; or (b) to offer to do anything mentioned in paragraph (a), otherwise than under the authority of this Act, and “trafficking” has a corresponding meaning; “unmanned aircraft” and “unmanned aircraft system” have the meanings given by section 2(1) of the Air Navigation Act 1966; “unmanned vessel” means a vessel equipped wholly or substantially with an autonomous system (such as an unmanned surface vehicle and a saildrone) and includes a barge drawn by an unmanned vessel; “vehicle” means any means of transport used on land, whether self-propelled or not, such as a train, motor car, bicycle or personal mobility device; “vessel” includes a floating facility; “vulnerable person” means any person who suffers from an impairment of, or a disturbance in the functioning of, the mind or brain resulting from any disability or disorder of the mind or brain which impairs the ability to make a proper judgment in relation to the commission of any offence under this Act; “young person” means any person who is below 21 years of age. [30/2012; 1/2014; 1/2019] Appointment of Director and other officers of Central Narcotics Bureau 3.—(1) The Minister may appoint a Director of the Central Narcotics Bureau and such numbers of Deputy Directors, Divisional Directors and other officers as the Minister may think fit. [30/2012] (2) All officers of the Bureau appointed by the Minister before 12 December 1975 are deemed to have been appointed under subsection (1). (3) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the powers and functions conferred upon the Director under this Act, and the duties required to be discharged by him or her may, subject to such limitations as the Director may impose, be exercised and discharged by any Deputy Director or Divisional Director of the Central Narcotics Bureau duly authorised by the Director to act on his or her behalf. [30/2012] (4) The Director may issue such orders not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act and the regulations made under this Act, to be called General Orders, as he or she may think necessary and expedient for the control, direction and information of the officers of the Bureau. [30/2012] (5) It is not necessary to publish any General Orders in the Gazette. [30/2012] Advisory committees 4.—(1) For the purpose of assisting in the administration of this Act, the Minister may appoint such advisory committees as he or she thinks fit. (2) Every such committee has such functions as the Minister may determine. (3) Subject to the regulations, every such committee may regulate its own procedure.