- (ii) is not evidence of any offence under this Act, and
- (d) the officer has no reason to believe that, at the time of the seizure, the item was being used for the purposes of, or in connection with, an exempted activity carried on by a person entitled to the item.
(2) The officer may dispose of the item in whatever way the officer thinks is suitable.
(3) For the purposes of this section—
- (a) an activity is an “exempted activity” in relation to a person if the carrying on of the activity by that person would not be an offence under this Act by virtue of section 11;
- (b) the persons “entitled” to an item are—
- (i) the person from whom it was seized;
- (ii) (if different) any person to whom it belongs.
(4) In this section “enactment” includes—
- (a) an enactment contained in subordinate legislation;
- (b) an enactment contained in, or in an instrument made under, an Act of the Scottish Parliament;
- (c) an enactment contained in, or in an instrument made under, a Measure or Act of the National Assembly for Wales;
- (d) an enactment contained in, or in an instrument made under, Northern Ireland legislation.
51Forfeiture of seized items by court on application
(1) A relevant enforcement officer may apply to the appropriate court for the forfeiture of an item retained under section 49.
(2) Where an application for the forfeiture of an item is made under this section, the item is to be retained while proceedings on the application are in progress.
(3) If the court is satisfied that—
- (a) the item is a psychoactive substance which, if it had not been seized, was likely to be consumed by an individual for its psychoactive effects, and
- (b) at the time of its seizure, the item was not being used for the purposes of, or in connection with, an exempted activity (see subsection (12)) carried on by a person entitled to the item,
the court must order the forfeiture of the item.
(4) If the item is not a psychoactive substance, the court may order the forfeiture of the item if satisfied that it has been used in the commission of an offence under this Act.
(5) Where an order for forfeiture of an item is made under subsection (3) or (4), the item may be disposed of in whatever way the officer who applied for the order, or another relevant enforcement officer acting on behalf of the same person as that officer, thinks is suitable.
(6) But the item may not be disposed of under subsection (5)—
- (a) before the end of the period within which an appeal under section 52 may be made against the order, or
