Occupier or Manager of Premises permitting drug misuse Flashcards
Q: What is the law governing where an occupier of premises is aware that certain activities are taking place on their premises?
S8 1971 Act
A person commits an offence if, being the occupier or concerned in the management of any premises, he knowingly permits or suffers any of the following activities to take place on those premises, that is to say—
(a) producing or attempting to produce a controlled drug in contravention of section 4(1) of this Act;
(b) supplying or attempting to supply a controlled drug to another in contravention of section 4(1) of this Act, or offering to supply a controlled drug to another in contravention of section 4(1);
(c) preparing opium for smoking;
(d) smoking cannabis, cannabis resin or prepared opium.
Q: Summary of the offences above
- unlawfully producing or attempting to produce a controlled drug
- unlawfully supplying or attempting to supply a controlled drug
- preparing opium for smoking
- smoking cannabis, cannabis resin or prepared opium
Q: What is preparing opium for smoking?
Opium is used as a painkiller and to enhance drowsiness.
It has been turned into a concentrated pill-like form to be used as a narcotic. It is turned into vapour and inhaled.
Q: What must there be proof of?
There must be proof that one of these specific activities- producing, preparing, supplying, smoking has actually occurred for the offence to be permitted.
Giving approval in advance for these activities to take place is not enough.
Q: What does an ‘occupier’ cover?
An occupier does not mean someone living there.
Case law tells us that we should adopt a common-sense approach. It is not restricted to landowners and tenants or those who have some form of legal estate in the land.
Case of Cohed- for the purposes of S8, a person is in occupation of premises whatever his legal status if the prosecution can show that the person exercised control or had the authority of another to exclude persons from the premises or to prohibit any of the activities specified by s8.
If you are the person who has the right to stop these activities or throw people of the premises, then you are covered.
This might include students in uni accommodation- if they can exclude persons from their personal rooms, even though they belong to the university.
Q: When does a householder not commit this offence?
If unknown to him, whilst he is away from his home, someone else in the property allows others to take drugs in their home.
Eg: teenage daughter allows people to take drugs in the house when her father is away, without his knowledge.
The daughter is not technically the occupier but could be concerned in the management of the premises and potentially committing the act herself.
Q: What does ‘concerned in the management of premises’ mean?
This is anyone who is involved in exercising control over them or in running or organising them on a day-to-day basis.
Case law tells us that this requires more than just routine duties such as cleaning. It has the potential to be wider than the manager of a property.
Eg: the manager of a premises would definitely fit the definition, but this may also include the person who takes bookings, manages the staff rota etc…
Q: What about trespassers or squatters on premises?
If they knowingly permit drug taking there, they may still be concerned in the management of premises, even though they have no legal right to expel others from the property. This will be the case if they organise the running of the squat.
Q: How are premises defined?
Premises is not defined for the purposes of the 1971 Act.
The courts have used its ordinary meaning which covers any form of building, including parts of a building, the land on which a building sits and land without any building on it.
Q: What does ‘knowingly permits or suffers’ mean?
That you could put a stop to it, but you don’t.
Case law tells us that we need to show proof of unwillingness to prevent the prohibited activity, even if it is only wilfully turning a blind eye to what is going on.
You know or at least suspect something to be happening, you could do something about it but you don’t bother and perhaps deliberately refrain from making such enquiries.
Q: What if D believes he has taken reasonable steps to prevent drug use?
The fact that D believed that he had taken reasonable steps to prevent the drug use is irrelevant. To avoid liability, you need to ensure that the activity stops once you are aware of it.
If the charge is producing or supplying a controlled drug, there is no need to prove that D knew it was a particular type of drug. Only that it was a controlled drug.
But the specified activity must actually take place. it is not enough that the occupier or manager has given approval in advance for it to happen later.
Q: What type of offence is it?
Triable either way offence
Sentence would depend on type of drug involved.
Class A drugs eg: Opium- maximum sentence is 14 years and/or fine on indictment, 6 months summarily
Class B drugs eg: Cannabis- maximum sentence is 14 years and/or fine on indictment, 6 months summarily
Class C drug- maximum sentence is 14 years and/or fine on indictment, 3 months summarily
