Widespread pressure on the Government has forced a rethink on plans to expand the Misuse of Drugs Act 2021 by reclassifying substances extensively used in inkjet printing inks and the broader chemical industry. The industry now has a breathing space of several months breathing space while consultation is carried out with a view to mitigating the unforeseen impacts of a forced licensing regime.
Instead of licensing becoming necessary for every company using products containing any amount of GBL, and a need for auditable secure storage, there is now a chance that printers using solvent based inkjet inks will be granted an exemption from this burden. The redrawn legislation is expected to come into force in March 2023 following any changes suggested by the consultation.
GBL is related to GBH, a drug widely implicated in so called date rape cases and at least two recent murder cases. There is pressure to reclassify GBL as a Class B narcotic as awareness of how the drug is used increases, particularly with reports that administration by hypodermic needles is increasing something causing concern across the night time economy.
The Government had initially acted in response to a report from its drugs advisory committee submitted in 2021. This led to the introduction of the proposed amendment at the end of last year, leading to alarm bells across the printing industry at the start of this year. These were sounded by Epson and Mimaki, two of the ink suppliers particularly reliant on the solvent. In turn the British Coatings Federation and Graphics & Print Media Alliance (including Picon, the BPIF and IPIA) pressed the case with civil servants and ministers at the Home Office and BEIS.
The GPMA is chaired by BPIF chief executive Charles Jarrold who says: “We are relieved that the proposed legislation has been withdrawn, and that a full consultation will now be carried out to determine the best way forward.
“We have been particularly encouraged by, and appreciative of, the support that the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy gave us in this process, and the level of engagement from the Home Office. Not only did we coordinate through the GPMA across the entire print supply chain, but we worked closely with the wider chemicals supply chain throughout this process.”
A major plank of the argument is that extracting the relatively small amounts of GBL from expensive printing ink and requiring a complex process to do so makes no economic sense.
The BCF is not part of the GPMA, but is a member of the Alliance of Chemical Industries, which has been equally alarmed at the implications of the legislation on its members. BCF chief executive Tom Bowtell is its chair and says: “We welcome that Government has listened to the concerns of industry and agreed to redraft the required regulations. This creates space for proper consultation with businesses as new legislation is drafted over the coming months. We hope these discussions will lead to a more proportionate and effective law, one which delivers on the Government’s aims but which does not unduly penalise legitimate users of these substances across the chemical supply chain, nor in the manufacturing or other sectors.”
Those companies that have already sought a licence to handle GBL will be contacted by the authorities to explain the next steps.
