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The purpose of this page is to explicitly state the legal status of creating, implementing and using a cell-free paper based drug biosensor under United Kingdom drug policy.
The Misuse of Drugs Act of 1971, which is the current and defining piece of drug policy legislation in the UK, does not ban the possession of drug paraphernalia in any form. Thus, the possession of any paraphernalia, including drug testing kits, for intended use or otherwise, is not a crime.
The Misuse of Drugs Act of 1971 does, however, place restrictions on the sale of paraphernalia. Specifically, it explicitly bans the sale of syringes, swabs, citric acid, filters and ampoules of water for injection, except when it is sold or provided by practitioners, pharmacists or those involved in suitable health and social outreach programmes. The intended purpose of this ban is to prevent drug dealers from providing ‘hard’ drug paraphernalia to users. Drug testing kits do not belong to the above list of unsalable paraphernalia, and are, therefore, legally sold and distributed in the United Kingdom.