Consultation - Proposed Order Amending Schedule VI to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act with Respect to Six Chemicals Used in the Production of Fentanyl

The purpose of this Notice of Consultation is to provide an opportunity to comment on Health Canada's proposal to amend Schedule VI to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) and the Schedule to the Precursor Control Regulations (PCR) by adding six chemicals, namely Propionyl chloride, 1-Phenethyl-4-piperidone and its salts, 4-Piperidone and its salts, Norfentanyl (N-phenyl-N-piperidin-4-ylpropanamide) and its salts, 1-Phenethylpiperidin-4-ylidenephenylamine and its salts and N-Phenyl-4-piperidinamine and its salts to these Schedules as Class A precursors.

These chemicals can be used in the production of fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid analgesic. In recent years, deaths involving fentanyl have increased markedly in several provinces and an increasing number of law enforcement drug seizures have been shown to contain fentanyl. The proposed scheduling of fentanyl precursors complements the new opioid action plan announced by the Minister of Health in June 2016.

The CDSA prohibits any person from conducting activities with controlled substances and precursor chemicals unless authorized by regulation or exempted in accordance with the Act. Regulations made under the CDSA provide a framework to authorize legitimate activities with controlled substances and precursor chemicals, such as production, sale, import and export.

Scheduling these chemicals under the CDSA and the PCR will provide law enforcement agencies with the authority to take appropriate actions and allow Health Canada to regulate legitimate businesses who conduct activities with these chemicals.

How to Get Involved

Proposed amendments are outlined in a Notice to Interested Parties (NTIP) published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on September 3, 2016, initiating a 30-day comment period ending on October 2, 2016.

Go to the Canada Gazette for further details.

If you are interested in this process or have comments on the proposed amendments outlined in the NTIP, please contact:

By email at: ocs_regulatorypolicy-bsc_politiquereglementaire@hc-sc.gc.ca.

By mail at:

Legislative and Regulatory Affairs
Controlled Substances Directorate
Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch
Health Canada
Address Locator: 0302A
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0K9