POISONS ACT 1952

LAWS OF MALAYSIA ONLINE VERSION OF UPDATED TEXT OF REPRINT Act 366 POISONS ACT 1952 As at 11 May 2024 This text is ONLY AN UPDATED TEXT of the Poisons Act 1952 by the Attorney General’s Chambers. Unless and until reprinted pursuant to the powers of the Commissioner of Law Revision under subsection 14(1) of the Revision of Laws Act 1968 [Act 1], this text is NOT AN AUTHENTIC TEXT. 2 POISONS ACT 1952 First enacted … … … … 1952 (Ord. No. 29 of 1952) … … … … 1989 (Act 366 w.e.f. 13 April 1989) Latest amendment made by P.U. (A)125/2024 which came into operation on … … 11 May 2024 Revised PREVIOUS REPRINTS First Reprint ... ... ... ... ... 2001 Second Reprint ... ... ... ... ... 2006 3 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 366 POISONS ACT 1952 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS Section 1. Short title and application 2. Interpretation 3. Establishment of Poisons Board 4. Proceedings of Board 4A. Resolution without meeting 5. Powers of Board to regulate proceedings 6. Power of Minister to amend Poisons List 7. Application of the Act 8. Control of imports of poisons 9. Packaging, labelling and storing of poisons 10. Transport of poisons 11. Control of manufacture of preparations containing poison 12. Control of compounding of poisons for use in medical treatment 13. Possession for sale of poison and sale of poison in contravention of this Act an offence 14. Control of acetylating substances 15. Sale of poisons by wholesale 16. Sale of poisons by retail 17. Prohibition of sale to persons under 18 18. Restriction on the sale or supply of Part I poisons generally 4 Laws of Malaysia ACT 366 Section 19. Supply of poisons for the purpose of treatment by professional men 20. Group A Poisons 21. Group B Poisons 22. Group C Poisons 23. Group D Poisons 24. Prescription Book 25. Sale of Part II Poisons 26. Licences 26A. Directives 27. Register of licences 28. (Deleted) 29. Control of import manufacture and sale of lead tetra ethyl 30. Control of import, export, manufacture, sale, etc., of psychotropic substances 31. Powers of investigation, examination and entry into premises 31A. Powers of enforcement, inspection and investigation 31B. Search and seizure 31C. Power to access premises and land 31D. Power to require information and documents 31E. Access to recorded information, computerized data, etc. 31F. No cost or damages arising from entry, search or seizure to be recoverable 32. Penalties 32A. Compounding of offences 33. Sessions or Magistrate’s Court to have full jurisdiction over offences against this Act 34. Sanction to prosecute and conduct of prosecutions 34A. Protection against suits and legal proceedings 34B. Evidence of agent provocateur is admissible 34C. Electronic transaction Poisons Section 35. Regulations FIRST SCHEDULE SECOND SCHEDULE THIRD SCHEDULE 5 7 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 366 POISONS ACT 1952 An Act to regulate the importation, possession, manufacture, compounding, storage, transport, sale and use of poisons. [Peninsular Malaysia─1 September 1952; Sabah and Sarawak─1 June 1978] Short title and application 1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Poisons Act 1952. (2) This Act shall apply throughout Malaysia. Interpretation 2. (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— “Acetylating substance” includes acetic anhydride, acetyl chloride and acetyl bromide; “animal treatment” includes the investigation, examination or treatment of animal ailments; “authorized officer” means— (a) a Drug Enforcement Officer under this Act; (b) a police officer not below the rank of Inspector; or (c) a senior officer of customs as defined under the Customs Act 1967 [Act 235]; 8 Laws of Malaysia ACT 366 “British Pharmacopoeia” and “British Pharmaceutical Codex” respectively include supplements thereto; “compounding”, and its grammatical variations, mean the preparation, weighing, measuring and mixing if necessary of drugs and chemicals for the treatment of ailments; “contravention” of a provision includes a failure to comply with such provision; “conveyance’ includes ship, train, vehicle, aircraft or any other means of transport by which persons or goods can be carried; “dental treatment” includes the investigation, examination or treatment of human ailments of the teeth or the oral or maxillo-facial complex or its related structures or the performance of operations or the giving of treatment commonly undertaken or given by those practising dentistry; “Director General of Health” means the Director General of Health, Malaysia; “dispensed medicine” means a medicine supplied by— (a) a registered medical practitioner, registered dentist or registered veterinary surgeon under and in accordance with section 19; or (b) a registered pharmacist at or from a premises where a licensed pharmacist is licensed to retail poisons, for the purpose of the medical, dental or animal treatment, of a particular individual; “Drug Enforcement Officer” means any registered pharmacist in the public service duly authorized in writing by the Licensing Officer under subsection 31(1); “electronic” means the technology of utilizing electrical, optical, magnetic, electromagnetic, biometric, photonic or other similar technology; Poisons 9 “electronic message” means an information generated, sent, received or stored by electronic means; “estate” means any agricultural land exceeding twenty-five acres in extent upon which agricultural operations of any kind are carried on or upon which the produce of any plants or trees is collected or treated or any mine to which the provisions of Part IX of the Labour Code of the Federated Malay States [F.M.S. Cap. 154] or any of such provisions or any provisions, corresponding to such provisions, in force in any State have been lawfully applied; “estate hospital” means a hospital or dispensary maintained by an employer on or in the neighbourhood of an estate for the treatment of labourers thereon and includes a group hospital within the meaning of the Labour Code of the Federated Malay States or of any written law in any State corresponding thereto; “exempted preparation” means a preparation containing a poison of the kind or having the strength or otherwise coming within the description specified in the last column of the Poisons List entitled “Exempted Preparations”; “generally accepted name” means the name by which a substance is generally known in the trade; “a Group A Poison” “a Group B Poison” “a Group C Poison” and “a Group D Poison” respectively means a poison having the strength or otherwise coming within the description specified in the column of the Poison List entitled Group A, Group B, Group C or Group D respectively opposite to the name of such poison appearing in the first column of the Poisons List; “Licensing Officer” means a person appointed to be a Licensing Officer under section 26 and includes the Director General of Health; “licensed pharmacist” means a registered pharmacist who is the holder of a Type A Licence issued to him under section 26; “licensed wholesaler” means a person holding a licence issued to him under section 26 to sell poisons by wholesale; 10 Laws of Malaysia ACT 366 “manufacture” and its grammatical variations, mean the preparation, compounding, mixing and making of a pharmaceutical preparation in bulk but does not include the dispensing of a pharmaceutical preparation for a particular individual; “medical treatment” includes the investigation, examination or treatment of human ailments; “Minister” means the Minister charged with the responsibility for medical and health services; “Part I Poison” means a Group A, Group B, Group C or Group D poison specified in the column of the Poisons List entitled “Part I” of the First Schedule; “Part II Poison” means a poison specified in the column of the Poisons List entitled “Part II” of the First Schedule; “poison” means any substance specified by name in the first column of the Poisons List and includes any preparation, solution, compound, mixture or natural substance containing such substance, other than an exempted preparation or an article or preparation included for the time being in the Second Schedule; “Poisons List” means the Poisons List set out in the First Schedule as amended from time to time in accordance with section 6; “possess for sale” and its grammatical variations include having in possession knowing that the article possessed is likely to be sold or exposed for sale; “premises” includes any house, shop, store, room, cubicle, shed, conveyance, structure or any place whether open or enclosed; “Principal Director” means the head of the pharmaceutical services in the Ministry of Health; “psychotropic substance” means any of the substances specified in the Third Schedule; “retail sale” means any sale other than a wholesale sale; Poisons 11 “registered dentist” means a dental practitioner registered in Division I or Division II of the Register kept under subsection 11(1) of the Dental Act 1971 [Act 51]; and “registered dentist Division I” and “registered dentist Division II” means a dental practitioner whose name has been registered in the first or second division respectively of the said Register; “registered medical practitioner” means a medical practitioner registered under the Medical Act 1971 [Act 50]; “registered pharmacist” means a pharmacist registered under any written law relating to the registration of pharmacists, and includes, in Sabah or Sarawak, a person holding a qualification recognized by the Director of Medical Services in Sabah or Sarawak, as the case may be, as a sufficient guarantee of the possession of the requisite knowledge and skill for the efficient practice of the profession of a pharmacist; “registered veterinary surgeon” means a veterinary surgeon registered under the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1974 [Act 147]; “sell” or “sale” includes barter and also includes offering or attempting the sell; “supply” includes the supply of commercial samples and dispensed medicines, but does not include the direct administration by or under the immediate personal supervision of a registered medical practitioner or registered dentist of a poison or medicine to his patient in the course of treatment where such administration is authorized under section 19; “Peninsular Malaysia” has the meaning assigned thereto in section 3 of the Interpretation Acts 1948 and 1967 [Act 388], and includes the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan; “wholesale” means a sale to any person who intends to sell again and any sale by a licensed wholesaler authorized by paragraphs (d) to (k) inclusive of subsection 15(2); “written law” has the meaning assigned thereto in the Interpretation Acts 1948 and 1967. 12 Laws of Malaysia ACT 366 (2) In this Act where anything is required to be done under the immediate personal supervision of any person it shall be deemed to have been so done if such person was at the time it was done upon the premises where it was done and available for immediate consultation by the person doing such thing: Provided that where any dispensing compounding or mixing of any poison with any other substance is required to be done under the immediate personal supervision of any person, it shall not be deemed to have been so done unless such person has himself checked such dispensing, compounding or mixing. Establishment of Poisons Board 3. (1) For the purpose of this Act and to advise the Minister generally thereon, there shall be established an advisory board, called the Poisons Board, consisting of the members following: (a) the Director General of Health who shall be an ex-officio member; (b) one pharmacist holding office in the service of the Government to be appointed by the Minister; (c) one officer of the Department of Chemistry to be appointed by the Minister; (d) one officer of the Department of Agriculture to be appointed by the Minister; (e) one officer of the Veterinary Department holding office in the ser