The storage of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances requires compliance with specific legal requirements related to ensuring appropriate storage quality and a high level of security. They oblige all entities involved in the circulation of anaesthetics - i.e. pharmacies, clinics, hospitals, care facilities and doctors' surgeries - to properly secure these substances against unauthorised taking and use. The following are the most important extracts, mainly from the three orders that regulate these issues.
- Regulation of the Minister of Health on the basic conditions for running a pharmacy of 18th October 2002 (Journal of Laws [Dz. U.] No. 187, item 1565)
§ 1 Scope of the Regulation
The Regulation specifies:
1) the conditions for storage of medicinal products and medical devices; (...)
§ 3 Storage places for medicinal products and medical devices
1. (...)2. Narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors of group I-R shall be stored in accordance with the provisions issued under the Act of 24th April 1997 r. on Counteracting Drug Addiction (Journal of Laws [Dz.U.] no. 75, pos. 468, from 1998 no. 106, pos. 668 i no. 113, pos. 715, from 2000 no. 20, pos. 256 and no. 103, pos. 1097, from 2001 no. 111, pos. 1194 and no. 125, pos. 1367 and from 2002 no. 25, pos. 253 and no. 113, pos. 984). - Regulation of the Minister of Health on narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, precursors of category 1 and preparations containing these drugs or substances of 11th September 2006 (Journal of Laws [Dz.U.] no. 169, pos. 1216), i.e. of 28th October 2015 r. (Journal of Laws [Dz.U.] from 2015 pos. 1889)
Pursuant to Article 41.5 of the Act of 29th July 2005 on counteracting drug addiction (Journal of Laws [Dz.U.] from 2012 pos. 124 and from 2015 pos. 28 and 875) it is ordered as follows:
(...)
§ 2
1. Narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, preparations containing these drugs or substances and precursors of category 1 shall be stored in a pharmacy, taking into account paragraph 2, in a manner that protects them from theft, substitution and destruction.
2. Narcotic drugs of groups I-N and II-N, psychotropic substances of group II-P and preparations containing these drugs or substances should be stored in properly secured rooms, in closed metal cabinets or cassettes permanently fixed to the walls or floors of the room, in a place inaccessible to patients. - Regulation of the Minister of Health on the detailed requirements to be met by a pharmacy premises of 30th September 2002 (Journal of Laws [Dz.U.] no. 171, pos. 1395)
(...)
§ 8
1. The basic equipment of a public pharmacy shall include:
(...)
4) cabinets or cases intended for storing narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances secured in accordance with separate regulations;
(...) - According to the verdict of the Provincial Administrative Court dated 19th September 2007 (VII SA/Wa 323/07) the provincial pharmaceutical inspector may withdraw the permit or not issue it if the entity running a pharmacy does not have the appropriate equipment to store narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
- Read also: Safe storage of medicines in pharmacies and medical facilities Safe storage of medicines in pharmacies and medical facilities
Legal issues – storage of firearms
In the Weapons Act and several supplementary regulations, the legislator has specified how weapons should be stored, regardless of their type and quantity.
Weapons Act – safety in the storage of weapons
The storage of weapons is regulated by law in Poland. Owners will find the most important provisions in the Act of 21st May 1999 on Weapons and Ammunition (Journal of Laws of 2012, item 576; of 2013, item 829; and of 2014, item 295) and the General Regulation to the Weapons Act issued by the Minister of the Interior on the storage, carrying and registration of weapons and ammunition of 26th August 2014 (Journal of Laws of 2014, item 1224). In principle, gun safes must be at least in class S1 in accordance with the EN 14450 standard. Depending on the number of firearms stored, it may be necessary to construct a special weapons store or a secure room. Class S1 is the minimum requirement, which means that any safe with a certificate from Class 0 upwards, issued in accordance with the EN 1143-1 standard, may be used. We have also obtained an individual interpretation on this matter from the National Police Headquarters (see below). We have compiled the most important information for you here.
ACT of 21 May 1999 on weapons and ammunition (Journal of Laws of 2012, item 576), as amended on 30 November 2015)
Article 32.
1. Weapons and ammunition must be stored and carried in such a way as to prevent unauthorised persons from gaining access to them.
2. The Minister responsible for internal affairs, in consultation with the Minister of National Defence and the Minister responsible for culture, shall lay down, by way of a regulation, detailed rules and conditions for the storage, carrying and recording of weapons and ammunition, with the exception of the entities referred to in Article 29(1)(1) and (2), taking into account security measures preventing access to weapons and ammunition by third parties.
Article 51.
1. Any person who, without the required registration, possesses an air gun or sells an air gun, a tear gas dispenser, or a tool or device whose use may endanger life or health to an unauthorised person, shall be liable to imprisonment or a fine.
2. The same penalty shall apply to anyone who:
(...)
7) stores and carries weapons and ammunition in a manner that allows unauthorised persons access to them
(...)
Regulation of the Minister of the Interior of 26 August 2014 on the storage, carrying and registration of weapons and ammunition
§ 2. Weapons and ammunition shall be stored in a room suitably adapted for this purpose, hereinafter referred to as a ‘weapons store’, or in devices meeting the requirements of at least class S1 in accordance with standard PN-EN 14450.
§ 3. 1. Weapons and ammunition shall be stored by entities holding weapons and ammunition on the basis of a bearer firearms licence ( ), as referred to in Article 29(1)(3)–(7) of the Act, hereinafter referred to as “entities holding weapons and ammunition”, shall store them in a weapons store, in facilities meeting at least the requirements of class S1 in accordance with the EN 14450 standard.
§ 5. 1. Persons possessing firearms and ammunition therefore on the basis of a licence referred to in Article 10(4) of the Act shall store firearms and ammunition in devices meeting the requirements of at least class S1 in accordance with the EN 14450 standard.
§ 6. 1. Persons possessing firearms and ammunition for firearms for collection and commemorative purposes, where such firearms and ammunition are stored outside the devices referred to in § 5(1), may store them in display cabinets intended for the storage of firearms provided the following conditions are met:
1) display cabinets for the storage of firearms and ammunition shall have:
a) a structure made of materials ensuring stability,
b) the ability to be secured to the floor or locked in place to prevent their position from being altered,
c) glazing made of glass with increased resistance to penetration and breakage of at least class P6B in accordance with the EN 356 standard,
d) a lock of at least class 5 in accordance with the EN 12209 standard.
§ 7. Weapon storage devices shall have declarations of conformity with the relevant Polish Standards or certificates of conformity with the relevant Polish Standards, issued by a certification body accredited by the Polish Centre for Accreditation.
§ 12. Entities possessing firearms and ammunition, and persons possessing firearms and ammunition on the basis of the licence referred to in Article 10(4) of the Act, who obtained a firearms licence issued prior to the date of entry into force of this Regulation, shall bring the storage of firearms and ammunition into compliance with the requirements referred to in § 3–6:
1) within 5 years of the date of entry of this Regulation into force;
2) on the date of obtaining a new firearms licence — in the case of obtaining a new firearms licence issued after the date of entry of this Regulation into force.
§ 13. The Regulation of the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration of 3rd April 2000 on the storage, carrying and recording of firearms and ammunition (Journal of Laws No. 27, item 343) is repealed.
Note: amendments to the consolidated text of the aforementioned Act were published in the Journal of Laws of 2013, item 1247, and of 2014, items 228 and 951.
Opinion of the Institute of Precision Mechanics
The aforementioned Regulation of the Ministry of the Interior caused some confusion and uncertainty among owners of gun cabinets and gun safes. We therefore approached the Prevention and Road Traffic Bureau of the National Police Headquarters to request an interpretation of the regulations on the storage of firearms. We were particularly concerned about users of Class 0 gun cabinets, as there was a fear that they would have to replace them with Class S1 or S2 cabinets, which are of a lower security quality than cabinets or safes compliant with the PN-EN 1143-1 standard. Below is the relevant part of the response from the Legal Adviser of the relevant department of the Prevention and Traffic Bureau of the National Police Headquarters:
"As you rightly pointed out, in accordance with the regulations contained in this act, persons and entities holding a firearms licence issued under the provisions of the Act of 21st May 1999 on firearms and ammunition (Journal of Laws of 2012, item 576, as amended), are obliged to store firearms and ammunition in devices meeting the requirements of at least class S1 in accordance with the standard PN-EN-14450. It is therefore clear that the use of devices in a higher class is correct and in accordance with the regulations.
At the same time, I would like to inform you that, according to the opinion of the Institute of Precision Mechanics, products classified in class "0" or higher, in accordance with the PN-EN 1143-1 standard, have a higher resistance to break-in than those classified in accordance with the PN-EN 14450 standard. Therefore, all devices classified according to the PN-EN 1143-1 standard meet the requirements referred to in the aforementioned regulation."
We also recommend the following articles on our blog:
Why must you always keep your weapons in a safe?
What class should a gun safe have? Regulations vs. reality