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MISUSE OF DRUGS ACT 1981 - SECT 27

MISUSE OF DRUGS ACT 1981 - SECT 27

27 .         Disposal of prohibited drugs and prohibited plants

        (1)         If, in the case of a relevant thing which is seized or acquired and detained under section 26

            (a)         a police officer is satisfied that no person will be tried with the commission of an offence in relation thereto, and it has not been destroyed under subsection (4), the police officer shall —

                  (i)         cause that relevant thing to be destroyed in accordance with the regulations; or

                  (ii)         if a person who is authorised by or under this Act, the Medicines and Poisons Act 2014 or the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2019 to have possession thereof is entitled to have possession of that relevant thing, release that relevant thing to that person;

                or

            (b)         a person is tried with the commission of an offence in relation thereto and it has not been destroyed under subsection (4), the court which so tries the person shall, whether or not the person is convicted of that offence and after having given any other person (in this paragraph called the claimant ) claiming to be authorised by or under this Act, the Medicines and Poisons Act 2014 or the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2019 to have possession thereof and to be entitled to have possession of that relevant thing, an opportunity to show cause why that relevant thing should be released to him, order that that relevant thing —

                  (i)         be released to the claimant; or

                  (ii)         be destroyed; or

                  (iii)         be forfeited to the Crown.

        (2)         If, in relation to any relevant thing seized under section 26, the Commissioner is satisfied that —

            (a)         it is not reasonably practicable (for whatever reason) to detain the thing until it is dealt with under subsection (1); and

            (b)         sufficient samples have been taken of or from the thing,

                the Commissioner may direct that the thing (apart from the samples) be destroyed before it is dealt with under that subsection.

        (3)         A direction shall be in writing in the prescribed form.

        (4)         If the Commissioner directs under subsection (2) that any thing be destroyed, a police officer shall as soon as practicable cause the thing to be destroyed in accordance with the regulations.

        (5)         The Commissioner may in writing amend or revoke a direction before effect is given to it.

        (6A)         If —

            (a)         a court convicts a person of an offence under this Act that involved the possession or use of a relevant thing; and

            (b)         the relevant thing was destroyed under this section,

                the court may order the person to pay the costs reasonably incurred by the State in destroying the thing, other than costs relating to the employment of police officers or the use of equipment or facilities under the control or management of the Commissioner.

        (6)         In this section —

        relevant thing means a prohibited drug, prohibited plant or dangerous substance or a thing contaminated with a dangerous substance;

        sufficient samples means —

            (a)         in the case of a thing that has already been analysed or examined by an approved analyst or an approved botanist, sufficient samples to enable any further analysis or examination that might be required under section 27A; or

            (b)         in any other case, sufficient samples to enable —

                  (i)         analysis or examination by an approved analyst or an approved botanist; and

                  (ii)         any further analysis or examination that might be required under section 27A.

        [Section 27 amended: No. 44 of 1995 s. 8; No. 44 of 2010 s. 7; No. 13 of 2014 s. 175; No. 27 of 2019 s. 186.]