The Executive Yuan Council today passed a draft amendment to the Drug Control Act toughening penalties against makers, traffickers and dealers of ketamine and other Class III and Class IV drugs.
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) proposed to revise the law in response to the flood of ketamine into the country, which is considered a grave threat to public health, Premier Sean Chen explained.
The draft revision, affecting Articles 4 and 36, raises the minimum incarceration period for producers, transporters and sellers of Class III drugs like ketamine from five years to seven. In addition, the mandatory incarceration period for producers, transporters and sellers of Class IV drugs, currently three to 10 years, would rise to five to 12 years.
The amendment will be sent to the Legislature for deliberation. The premier asked the MOJ to maintain communication with ruling and opposition parties to ensure its swift completion.
There has been much discussion in the fields of pharmacology, toxicology and law and throughout society about whether ketamine use should be a criminal offense, the premier said. Many members of the media and academia have weighed in on the subject, and Chen has instructed the MOJ to review and research their recommendations while advancing the current amendment.
In addition to asking the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) to offer its opinions on the practical aspects of the legislation, the premier requested the Ministry of Education and Ministry of National Defense to strengthen their advocacy work with students and military service members, respectively.
Besides that, Chen instructed the National Science Council to call a forum in which the council, the MOJ, the MOI and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications would discuss mutual technical assistance and inter-ministerial cooperation on implementation of drug testing.
The Drug Control Act was promulgated May 20, 1998 and has been amended four times, the MOJ said. Article 4 was previously amended July 9, 2003 to add Class IV drugs and institute related penalties and May 20, 2009 to raise the fines for producers, transporters and sellers of Class I, II and III drugs.
This revision does not alter fines. The MOJ believes the most effective deterrent to the current proliferation of Class III and IV drugs is tougher prison sentences, not higher monetary penalties.