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Contents Chapter
Notes (PDF) Annexes (PDF)
EXPLANATORY NOTES The following abbreviations have been used in this report:
The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Countries and areas are referred to by the names that were in official use at the time the relevant data were collected.
ForewordThe international drug control treaties require the International Narcotics Control Board to prepare an annual report on its work. Each year, a chapter of the report focuses on a special theme, as a way of contributing to policy discussions and decisions on national, regional and international drug control. As the main aim of the treaties is to prevent drug abuse and its associated problems, the special theme of the report in the last few years has been directly or indirectly associated with the prevention of drug use that has no medical or scientific legitimacy. Although the need for the prevention of drug abuse is clear, the best course of action is not. Because the causes of drug abuse are multiple and interrelated, its prevention is similarly complex. At all levels of prevention, the linchpin of the approach to be taken is to reduce drug availability for non-medical purposes by statutory regulation. At one time, that was the main way, if not the only way, to address drug abuse; however, it has gradually become apparent that, on its own, that approach is never sufficient. Unless total eradication of illicit drug supply is achieved—an impossible ideal—drug abuse will continue; and unless drug abuse ceases—an equally impossible ideal—illicit drug supply will continue. Therefore, reducing the supply of drugs while simultaneously reducing the demand for them enhances the effectiveness of both approaches. While demand reduction is an important obligation under both the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 and the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971, its importance received international acknowledgement in the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988. The issue was highlighted and its importance reinforced in the thematic review conducted by the Board in 1993 and subsequently in the Declaration on the Guiding Principles of Drug Demand Reduction, adopted by the General Assembly at its twentieth special session, devoted to countering the world drug problem together (Assembly resolution S-20/3, annex). While the international drug control treaties require measures to reduce demand for drugs that are used illicitly, they equally require that drugs must be provided to those who need them for medical treatment. In chapter I of its report for 1999, the Board brought to the attention of the international community the fact that effective analgesics for the relief of pain and suffering are not readily available in many parts of the world. To complement that theme, the Board has decided to examine in its report for 2000 an equally important problem, namely the excessive consumption of drugs under international control. The report of the Board for 2000 includes a description of the excessive use of controlled drugs in a number of countries and a discussion of possible factors contributing to that situation. The various ways in which excessive drug consumption can be curbed are examined, and the responsibilities of health-care professionals, pharmaceutical companies, professional organizations, consumer associations, government and the public are outlined. Although it is important that the trend observed in recent years towards medicalizing social problems should be reversed, it is equally important that the proper use of medicines should not be discouraged. The Board recognizes that, despite all the concerns about psychoactive drugs and the problems related to their use, those drugs have revolutionized the care of the mentally ill over the past 50 years and medications containing narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances have an important place in health care. In addition to comprehensive educational programmes, preventive measures that seem likely to be most effective include reducing the availability of drugs by effective law enforcement that entails the application of penalties severe enough to deter those who make huge profits by dealing in illicit drugs. Reducing the excessive use of prescription drugs, however, depends much more on educating doctors and other health-care professionals in rational prescribing. Progress in that area is closely related to the long-term objective of changing public attitudes towards medicine in general and psychoactive drugs in particular. Chapters II and III of the report of the Board for 2000 include an analysis of the operation of the international drug control system and the major developments in drug abuse and trafficking in different regions of the world. The Board hopes that Governments will take effective measures to promote the appropriate use of controlled drugs and to prevent excessive drug consumption wherever it occurs. Furthermore, attention must be paid to the supply of effective medicine where shortfalls occur. At the dawn of the twenty-first century, the Board hopes that States that have not yet ratified the international drug control treaties will take the necessary action to ensure that the goal of universal adherence to those treaties will be achieved. It also hopes that the present report will prove useful to Governments and their peoples as together they endeavour to meet the challenges ahead. Hamid Ghodse | |
