Correspondence

Circular 002/2026: orphines

Published 10 June 2026

1. Overview

The Government has taken swift action to introduce a Temporary Class Drug Order (TCDO) which creates offences where criminals are trafficking and selling any of seven named orphines. This ensures police forces can act against criminal drug dealers who are putting lives at risk by profiting from these highly potent opiates. The Order is in force from 11 June 2026. Full control as Class A drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act (including possession offences) will be brought in at the earliest future opportunity, subject to Parliamentary approval.

2. Orphines controls

This circular draws attention to temporary controls which are being placed on 7 orphines, via the contents of the below statutory instrument, which will come into force at 00:01 on 11 June 2026.

• The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Temporary Class Drug) Order 2026

This circular contains information for law enforcement organisations, as offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and associated increased criminal penalties will now apply to orphines.

Statutory instruments are also published by the Stationery Office. Telephone orders and general enquiries can be made to 0330 202 5070.

3. Background

On 30 April 2026 the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) published a report about orphines, a type of opioid drug.

The report noted that the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) have reported that in England there had been more than 15 confirmed deaths in which orphines were involved since the spring of 2025. OHID’s National Drug Treatment Monitoring System data shows that 12 of these were in the period September to December 2025, including 5 in December.

The ACMD report also noted that since 2024, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime had received 206 reports from multiple countries, documented through its Early Warning Advisory programme, of drug samples containing orphine compounds. The report confirmed that most orphines, and all those which have been detected in recent deaths, are not controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (“the 1971 Act”). It stated that “the risk to the population from these recently emerging compounds is sufficiently great that urgent steps are required to protect public health”. 

The report recommended that 7 named orphines and 2 generic definitions of types of orphines should be controlled under Class A of the 1971 Act “as a matter of urgency”. The Minister for Policing and Crime, Sarah Jones MP, replied to the ACMD to confirm that she agreed with those recommendations and a draft order containing these provisions will be laid before Parliament in due course.

The report also recommended that if control of these substances under the 1971 Act cannot be expedited due to parliamentary or other time constraints, then a Temporary Class Drug Order (TCDO) should be made. It is not possible to expedite the controls under the 1971 Act, and the Minister confirmed that she would make a TCDO, to allow swift classification of these substances before they can be controlled under the 1971 Act. The TCDO has been in force since 11 June 2026.

A TCDO enables drug control legislation to be made (and associated enforcement action taken) to protect the public from the effects of harmful substances before legislation for permanent control of those substances as Class A, B or C drugs under the 1971 Act can take effect. TCDO controls last for one year or until the substance is controlled under the 1971 Act, whichever is earlier. The ACMD recommends that the order covers only the 7 named orphines, rather than the 2 generic definitions, because the evidence is strongest that they pose the most immediate risk. Three of the 7 substances have been identified as having been involved in deaths in the UK. The other 4 were notified by the EU Drugs Agency as being present in EU drugs markets.

4. Regulations on orphines

The TCDO controls the following 7 named orphines.

• Chlorphine
• Cychlorphine (N-propionitrile chlorphine)
• Spirochlorphine (R-6890)
• 5,6-Dichloro desmethylchlorphine (SR-17018)
• Etodezitramide 
• Spirobrorphine
• 5,6-dichlorobrorphine (SR 14968)

5. Criminal offences

TCDOs are made under section 2A of the MDA. Their effect is to make it a specific offence to produce, supply, offer to supply, import, export, or possess with intent to supply, the substance(s) in question, with penalties equivalent to those for drugs controlled in Class B of the MDA.

While the TCDO is in force, a person who produces, supplies, offers to supply, possesses with intent to supply, imports or exports one of these substances, may face a sentence of up to 14 years’ imprisonment.

The TCDO also provides that the Misuse of Drugs (Safe Custody) Regulations 1973, and the equivalent regulations in Northern Ireland (the Misuse of Drugs (Safe Custody) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 1973, apply to the 7 substances. These Regulations set minimum standards for how controlled drugs must be stored, in order to prevent their theft, diversion, or misuse.

The effect of the legislation is to make it easier for law enforcement bodies to take action when a person supplies, offers to supply, produces, imports or exports one of these substances, or possesses it with intent to supply it. The policy aim is to deter people from doing those things, and hence to reduce the level of health harms, including fatal ones, arising from these drugs.

The relevant Home Office offence codes are:

Offence	Code
Import a drug subject of a temporary class order with intent to evade a prohibition/restriction	092/37
Export a drug subject of a temporary class order with intent to evade a prohibition / restriction	092/38
Produce or being concerned in the production of a drug subject of a temporary class drug order	093/85
Supply or being concerned in the supply of a drug subject of a temporary class drug order	093/86
Permit the use of premises for the supply or production of a drug subject of a temporary class drug order	093/87
Possessing with intent to supply a drug subject of a temporary class drug order	093/88

The legislation also states that the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 and the Misuse of Drugs Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 apply to the seven substances as if they were specified in Schedule 1 to those Regulations. This means that an organisation which plans to make legitimate use of one of those substances, for example for research purposes, must apply to the Home Office (in Great Britain) or the Northern Ireland Department of Health (in Northern Ireland) for a licence.