Committees

Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs (EACD) Terms of Reference [1]

This document sets out the terms of reference for the Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs (“the EACD”), the underlying principles of the classification procedure, the working arrangements of the EACD, and the EACD’s agreed outputs.

1. Mandate

The EACD is a specialised committee established under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 [2] (“the Act”) to provide the Minister of Health (“the Minister”) with expert advice on the risk of harm to individuals or to society from any drug, substance, preparation, mixture, or article (“drug”). The EACD will advise on drug classification issues. The specific functions of the EACD are outlined in section 5AA of the Act (see below).

2. Membership

2.1 Appointment and reappointment of members
Members of the EACD will be appointed by the Minister in accordance with section 5AA of the Act. Members will be appointed by notice in writing by the Minister for a term of three years, but can be reappointed for a further term(s) by the Minister. It is envisaged that, as a general rule, members will serve for one or two terms.

2.2 Chairperson
The Minister shall appoint one member as Chairperson of the EACD. The Chairperson shall not have the right of a casting vote to break deadlocked decisions.

2.3 Resignation and removal of members
Any member can resign from the EACD by giving written notice to the Minister and the EACD Secretariat.

Any member who has resigned may continue in office until their replacement is appointed, if this is agreed upon by the EACD.

The Minister can remove any member from the EACD, and the Chairperson from his/her position as Chairperson, by notice in writing.

3. Meetings of the EACD

It is envisaged that the EACD will meet three to four times a year, although more meetings may be held if required. All EACD members should endeavour to attend meetings in person. However, the use of additional ‘out of session’ communications, such as teleconferences, may also be employed if appropriate.

If one or more members cannot make an EACD meeting, the EACD and EACD Secretariat may agree to hold the meeting in the members’ absence and forward background papers and notes of the EACD’s preliminary deliberations to the absent member(s).

The EACD may decide to establish a working group to further investigate a particular issue.

Decisions on the next meeting time will be agreed between the EACD and the EACD Secretariat at the end of the current meeting. Otherwise, a meeting can be called with the agreement of the Chairperson. If this is the case the EACD Secretariat will endeavour to accommodate the members existing schedules.

4. Secretariat

The EACD is assisted by a Secretariat (“the EACD Secretariat”) comprised of Ministry of Health officials and temporary advisers, as required.

The EACD Secretariat’s contact details are:

EACD Secretariat,
National Drug Policy Team,
Public Health Directorate,
Ministry of Health,
PO Box 5013,
Wellington
[Fax: (04) 496 2340].

5. Conduct

EACD members are expected to act in a professional manner.

5.1 Notice of Conflict of interest prior to appointment
Before members can be appointed to the EACD they must give the EACD Secretariat a statement completed by the member in good in good faith that—

(a) discloses any conflicts of interest that the person has with the EACD as at the date on which the statement is completed, or states that the person has no such conflicts of interest as at that date; and

(b) discloses any such conflicts of interest that the person believes are likely to arise in future, or states that the person does not believe that any such conflicts are likely to arise in future.

5.2 Conflicts of interest arising after appointment
If during the course of the EACD’s business any member finds he/she has a conflict of interest in any matter being considered by the EACD, he/she must disclose the nature of the conflict of interest to the EACD as soon as practicable after the facts have come to the member’s knowledge. To aid this process the Secretariat will circulate a conflict of interest form with subsequent agendas to allow members to disclose new potential conflict of interests, if they arise (and have not previously been disclosed).

Any conflict of interest disclosure will be recorded in a register maintained by the EACD Secretariat.

If a member has disclosed a potential conflict of interest he/she may still participate in the discussions and decisions of the EACD, subject to approval of a majority of the EACD. If this is the case the Minutes shall reflect the situation.

5.3 Ministry of Health conflict of interest protocol
Before being appointed to the EACD, members will be provided with the Ministry of Health’s Conflict of Interest Protocol for Statutory Bodies and Other Committees, which is based on the State Services Commission’s Board Appointments and Induction Guidelines, 1999. The protocol provides more information and guidance on conflict of interests.

5.4 Disclosure of confidential information
To the extent it does not interfere with the functions of the EACD (set out in section 5AA(2) of the Act – see below) members must not disclose any confidential information (eg, submissions to the EACD) obtained in the course of the EACD’s activities without the prior written approval of the Minister. If a member is in doubt as to whether information should be treated as confidential he/she should consult the EACD Secretariat in the first instance.

5.5 Media releases
Any media release by EACD must be issued under the authority of the Committee’s Chairperson. The Chairperson will clear any media release with the Minister's office prior to making the media release.

6. Functions

Section 5AA(2) of the Act sets the functions of the committee, which are:

(a) to carry out medical and scientific evaluations of controlled drugs, and any other narcotic or psychotropic substances, preparations, mixtures, or articles; and

(b) to make recommendation to the Minister about-

(i) whether and how controlled drugs or other substances, preparations, mixtures, or articles should be classified; and

(ii) the level at which any presumption for supply, as provided for in section 6(6), should be set for any substance, preparation, mixture, or article that is, or is proposed to be classified as , a controlled drug; and

(c) to increase public awareness of the Committee’s work, by (for instance) the timely release of papers, reports, and recommendations.
When considering a particular drug, EACD should recommend how that drug should be classified in accordance with section 3A of the Act, which states that classification of drugs is to be based on the risk of harm to individuals or society;

Drugs posing a very high risk of harm should be scheduled as 'Class A'.
Drugs posing a high risk of harm should be scheduled as 'Class B'.
Drugs posing a moderate risk of harm should be scheduled as 'Class C'.

The Act contains three schedules where drugs are listed and one schedule where precursor substances (ie, substances used or involved in the illegal processing or manufacturing of drugs) are listed. The EACD Secretariat will provide members with information clarifying the details of the Act’s classification framework.

In the future, the Minister may request the Committee to consider specific or broader issues around drug classification.

7. Process

7.1 Drugs referred to EACD for consideration
There are two paths by which a drug may be formally considered by the EACD.

First, the Minister of Health or the EACD Secretariat may refer a drug to the EACD for consideration. Members of the public can also feed into this process. If a member of the public considers the EACD should examine a particular drug’s classification status they can make such a request to the EACD Secretariat. The EACD Secretariat will prioritise such requests against other drugs, and if appropriate refer the request onto the EACD for consideration. However, the EACD Secretariat will also provide the EACD with a schedule of all requests received.

Second, the EACD may itself decide to examine the classification of a particular drug.

As soon as practicable, the EACD Secretariat should publish information on the National Drug Policy Web Site about the substances being considered by the Committee, and the process for making written submissions. Submissions made to the Committee are to remain confidential, however, they would be noted in the minutes of the meeting.

The EACD will decide whether to invite oral presentations from submitters on a case-by-case basis.

7.2 EACD is to conduct an evaluation of each drug referred to it
For each drug to be considered by the EACD (under the procedure set out in sections 4, 4A, and 4B of the Act), the EACD Secretariat will compile a report incorporating relevant information, including scientific evidence and international assessments. This report will address the following matters: [3]

substance identification (International Nonproprietary Name; chemical and common names, including trade names; other identifying characteristics, Chemical Abstracts Service registry number)
the drug’s similarity to known substances
current classification (if any)
proposed classification
likelihood or evidence of abuse, including prevalence of the drug, seizure trends, and potential appeal to vulnerable populations
specific effects of the drug, including pharmacological, psychoactive and toxicological effects of the drug
risk, if any, to public health
therapeutic value of the drug, if any
potential for death upon use
ability to create physical or psychological dependence
international classification and experience of the drug in other jurisdictions
potential presumption for supply (section 6(6) of the Act refers) and justification for this
other matters considered relevant by the EACD Secretariat or the Minister.

The EACD will consider these reports (which will include copies of relevant research/studies discussed) and other relevant background provided by the EACD Secretariat, along with relevant information and expertise brought to the meetings by EACD members.

The EACD’s expert input regarding the above matters, along with additional issues such as:

potential risks/implications of adopting the EACD’s recommendation to the Minister
whether there is a significant body of scientific/academic literature contrary to the EACD’s recommendation(s)
other matters the EACD considers relevant

will be incorporated into a final report to the Minister, which includes the EACD’s recommendation(s) on the drug(s) in question.

7.3 Consultation with other groups
When considering a drug, the EACD may wish to consult other groups, as it deems necessary, before making a recommendation to the Minister of Health.

7.4 EACD will endeavour to form a consensus position
The EACD will endeavour to form a consensus position on the risk of harm to individuals and society posed by each drug under consideration. If the EACD cannot reach a consensus position (even after consulting with such other groups as it deems necessary) the Committee may make majority and minority submissions to the Minister, which clearly specify the reasons why the EACD could not reach a consensus position on the drug. However, such split submissions should only be advanced as a last resort and after all avenues for reaching a consensus have been exhausted.

7.5 EACD’s recommendation(s) to the Minister
The EACD will prepare a formal written report on each drug that it considers. The report will make a recommendation on the appropriate classification of the drug in question, and the appropriate level for a presumption for supply, if any. The report will also include a summary of the information on each drug that forms the basis of the Committee’s recommendation to the Minister.

8. Communication of Recommendations

EACD reports and, where appropriate, any supporting background papers, will be made publicly available. In cases where EACD reports recommend to the Minister thata particular drug should be classified or reclassified, public release of the reports will be sufficiently delayed to allow the Minister to formulate a response to the Committee’s recommendation(s).

It is envisaged that relevant EACD reports and papers will be posted on the National Drug Policy website http://www.ndp.govt.nz, which is serviced by the Ministry of Health. [this has been done]

9. Consequential Drug Classification Changes

After receiving advice from the EACD on a particular drug, the Minister may decide to recommend that the Governor-General makes an Order in Council, which amends the Schedules in the Act (by either classifying a drug that is not already in the Schedules, or by reclassifying a drug currently classified in the Schedules). However, before any Order in Council can come into force it must be approved by resolution of the House of Representatives.

The EACD is an advisory body. Any recommendations that the EACD makes to the Minister about drug classification issues are not binding on the Minister. In any cases where the Minister declines to follow the recommendations of EACD, the Minister will seek to communicate the reasons for that decision to the Committee.

In carrying out its functions the EACD will meet the aforementioned outputs on time, and within budgets.

[1] These terms of reference expand upon on the World Health Organization. 2000. Guidelines for the WHO Review of Dependence-producing Psychoactive Substances for International Control. Geneva: WHO

[2] The Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 was amended by the Misuse of Drugs Amendment Act 2000. The provisions relating to the EACD were part of this amendment.

[3] Many, but not all, of these matters are required to be considered by the EACD under section 4B(2) of the Act.

National Drug Policy New Zealand