list-style: inherit; The Conventions four Schedules contain more than one hundred substances, which are classified according to the different degrees of control to which they must be subjected. margin: 1.5rem 0 2rem 0; Legal tensions between national policy practices and the treaty framework are on the rise, especially in the area of cannabis regulation. See: the Schedules of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971, as at 25 September 2013. } Paper by Martin jelsma for the Global Commission on Drug Policy, February 2011, Drug policy reform in practice: Experiences with alternatives in Europe and the US, Paper by Tom Blickman and Martin Jelsma, July 2009, Vienna Consensus on Drug Policy Cracks, Article by Tom Blickman, April 2009, Rewriting history: A response to the 2008 World Drug Report, Drug Policy Briefing No 26, June 2008, Sending the wrong message. .eventitem:hover { In Europe and Central Asia, one in every four women held in prison are there for non-violent drug offences. The ECDD then makes recommendations for the scheduling (or de-scheduling) of substances according to international drug conventions. line-height: normal !important; The second extraordinary GA session took place in June 1998, to reviewthe fight against the illicit production, sale, demand, trafficking and distribution of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and its related activities, and proposed new strategies, methods, and practical activities and special measures to strengthen international cooperation in the face of the problem of illicit drugs. width: 360px; A second type of national-level reform is decriminalisation. -webkit-transition: all 0.25s ease-in-out; Why was another new treaty necessary? float: left; The treaties also include general provisions on the trafficking and use of psychoactive substances. content: "\f105"; At a United NationsConference in 1988 in Viennathe United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances was adopted. The Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Ghada Waly says Vulnerable and marginalized groups, youth, women and the poor pay the price for the world drug problem. This is explicitly stated in the Commentary to the 1988 Convention regarding Article 3 of the Convention on Offences and Sanctions: It will be noted that, as with the 1961 and 1971 Conventions, paragraph 2 does not require drug consumption as such to be established as a punishable offence. There are however also clearly established limits to the latitude of the treaties; especially the legal regulation under state control of a market for recreational purposes falls outside the realm of interpreting the treaties in good faith. .carousel-caption.top-text { They shall destroy the coca bushes if illegally cultivated. Further information on how exactly the Convention deals with these three substances can be found in the same articles 21 bis to 28. This is related, firstly, to the fact that the treaties do not require countries to 'prohibit' any of the classified substances in themselves. .text-tagline { /************ some interactivity */ It respondedto the diversification and expansion of the number of drugs giving rise to illicit use and set up controls on a number of synthetic drugs according to their potential for illicit use on the one hand and their value. h2.international-selection { text-align: center; A similar situation applies in the 1971 Convention, which takes its cue from the previous treaty. It has even done this with regard to substances that are not internationally controlled, calling in its annual reports for them to be placed under control. By the 1960s, international treaties related to drug control were complex, contradictory, and difficult to enforce (Bewley-Taylor & Jelsma, 2011). } Pursuant to these conventions, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) has the authority to decide, upon a recommendation from the World Health Organization, whether a substance should . In many countries, the disproportionately long sentences meted out to drug offenders causes prison overcrowding, ties up the criminal justice system, and places prisoners at greater risk of being infected by HIV, hepatitis C, tuberculosis and other diseases. Drugs of. } font-size: 32.24px; Lessons learned and strategic challenges for the future. padding: 20px; background-color: #f5f5f5; } This was the reason why the two most 'prohibitionist' countries at the time, the United States and China, withdrew from the negotiations that led to the 1925 International Opium Convention, because they considered its measures to be insufficiently restrictive. The International Drug Control Conventions (12) United States Patent (10) Patent No. border-bottom: dotted 0.1rem #ffffff; padding-right: 6px; The Conventions commit you to "control" drugs, as their titles state. border: 1px solid #e3e3e3; For example, when the Jamaican Minister of Justice explained the decision to decriminalise the possession of up to two ounces of cannabis and to permit the use of cannabis for medical and religious purposes, he underscored that Jamaica is a small independent country that believes in the rule of law. This means that decisions are the product of the lowest common denominator in any discussion, and no country is able to alter any significant decision. font-family: 'Fontawesome'; By Martin Jelsma. ul.block-list li { The procedure of treaty denunciation followed by reaccession with reservation, as Bolivia did, is a legitimate procedure, although its practice in international law is limited to exceptional cases. International Drug Control: Consensus Fractured, by David R. Bewley-Taylor, presents a comprehensive, critical, and nuanced analysis of the evolution of the Global Drug Prohibition Regime since the UNGASS declaration up until the High Level Segment review, a period he labels as the UNGASS decade (1998-2009). These include synthetic psychedelics such as LSD and MDMA, commonly known as Ecstasy. It established special measures against the illicit cultivation, production, possession and trafficking of psychoactive substances and the diversion of precursor chemicals, as well as an agreement on mutual legal assistance, including extradition. Bolivia's proposal to amend the 1961 Single Convention, Drug Law reform Series No 11, March 2011, The Development of International Drug Control. Together with the use of the death penalty, this leads to a criminal justice system where minor drug offences are sometimes punished even more harshly than the crimes of rape, kidnapping or murder. @media only screen and (min-width: 1200px) { Booklet 5looks at the association between socioeconomic characteristics and drug use disorders, and Booklet 6addresses a number of other drug policy issues that all form part of the international debate on the drug problem. The substances in themselves were not prohibited, but their production and trade was subjected to strict controls in order to limit their use to medical and scientific purposes. The Convention aimedto combat drug use through coordinated international intervention. } content:'\f179'; Nevertheless, in its 2006 report the INCB called upon the authorities to consider taking appropriate measures to control [the] cultivation, trade and use of khat. the texts of the three main international drug control conventions: the single convention on narcotic drugs of 1961 as amended by the 1972 protocol, the convention on psychotropic substances of 1971 and the united nations convention against illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances of 1988 are available as an e-book for The process of scheduling under the current treaty system has become a political battlefield, due to inconsistencies in the treaties themselves and infringements on the WHO mandate from the side of the INCB. } States remain party to the treaties for a number of reasons, one of which is that the UN drug control treaties also regulate the global trade in drugs for licit medical purposes, including substances on the WHO list of essential medicines. margin-top: 15px!important; To start with, the drive for reform was concentrated in European countries, Canada and Australia, where harm reduction programmes (including needle exchange, methadone substitution therapy, safe consumption rooms, etcetera) gradually became an accepted component of these countries policies on drugs. } border-radius: 10px; Contrary to what is commonly believed, none of the controlled drugs were declared 'illegal'. } The Convention on Psychotropic Substances establishes an international control system for psychotropic substances. The effect of COVID-19 pandemic on drug markets is unknown and hard to predict but it could be far reaching. .top-bottom-dashed-line { bottom: 20px; Booklet 3deals with drug supply. .heading-underlined-blue { The weakening of the fight against world communism and the end of the cold war in the late 1980s freed up large quantities of military assets that were then re-assigned to the war on drugs. letter-spacing: normal; As for the coca leaf, Article 26 also says that The Parties shall so far as possible enforce the uprooting of all coca bushes which grow wild. color:#009edb; font-size: 2.25rem !important; .image-metadata { display: none; content: ''; .horizontal-line-top { padding-left: 40px; If a significant number of substantial objections are tabled, the Council can reject the proposed amendment. @media (max-width: 400px) { FDA, in cooperation with the National Institute on Drug Abuse . max-width: 70%; The purpose of the 1961 United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs was to replace the previous international agreements that had been reached since the International Opium Convention in a not very systematic manner. international voyage means a voyage from a country to which the present Convention applies to a port outside such country, or conversely.. International air transportation means transportation by air between a place in the United States and a place outside the United States or between two places both of which are outside the United States. } These are the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs ( United Nations, 1961 ), as amended by the 1972 Protocol, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances ( United Nations, 1971 ) and the 1988 Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs . As stated by World Health Organization (WHO), the rational use of controlled medicinesi.e. Indeed, the number of states prescribing the death penalty for drug offences actually increased after the 1988 Convention against trafficking was approved. .un-anniversaries { If, however, INCB notes that the measures necessary to remedy a serious situation have not been taken, it may call the matter to the attention of the parties concerned, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the Economic and Social Council. Thank you for your attention Celso Coracini Organized Crime and Illicit Trafficking Branch Division for Treaty Affairs box-shadow: 5px 5px 3px #f2f2f2; font-weight: bold; } International drug trafficking quickly became a multi-billion-dollar business controlled by criminal groups. Producing states, instead of adhering to the dogma of the current regime, should spearhead the creation of a new paradigm that is more to their advantage. These changes to the law or its enforcement in practice have had an immediate positive impact on the prison system in some countries, helping to alleviate the problem of overcrowding in prisons. font-size: 14px !important; The 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. Maintaining a permanent dialogue with Governments to assist them in complying with their obligations under the international drug control treaties and, to that end, recommending where appropriate, technical or financial assistance should be provided. } margin: 1.5rem 0; r DrugCont List of drugs included in Schedule I cotic. 3 (2016): 17-32. The critical review process is a detailed exercise that involves looking at a substances chemical properties, pharmacology, toxicology, dependence and abuse potential, therapeutic uses, inclusion in the WHO model list of essential medicines, industrial uses, trade, impact on public health, dependence and unauthorised use, production and illicit trafficking, and other factors within an overall medical and public health perspective. For further information and discussion on the matters raised in the 14 key questions in this primer, we recommend reading the following reports: Prospects for Treaty Reform and UN Coherence on Drug Policy. This Convention provides comprehensive measures against drug trafficking, including provisions against money laundering and the diversion of precursor chemicals. For example, then INCB president Hamid Ghodse wrote in the foreword to the 2011 Annual Report that One major challenge to the international drug control system is the recent decision by the Government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia to denounce the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961(). } border: none; During the COVID-19 pandemic, UNODC continuedto focus on delivering vital assistance to those in need, including to people who use drugs and with drug use disorders, who are in prison and who have HIV/Hepatitis C, specific pockets of vulnerability that need to be focused on in order to help slow the spread of the pandemic. These are the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, as amended by the 1972 Protocol, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances and the 1988 Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. This is why there is a need for a modernization of the treaty system that takes this new context into account and ensures that policy reforms can go ahead, guided by evidence and human rights principles but unhindered by legal constraints coming from outdated drug control treaties. Prior to the Single Convention, there had been a number of earlier treaties dealing with international drug control, beginning in 1912 with the International Opium Convention. The 1961 Convention only requires that the use of the drugs in Schedule IV (the most restrictive in this treaty) be prohibited if the Party should determine that the prevailing conditions in its country mean that this is the most appropriate means of protecting the public health and welfare (Article 2 5 b). There was a common political feeling at the time that they should be scheduled, but a group of WHO-related experts recently exposed that we have no proof of a scientific assessment. On that occasion, the United States was aiming to secure not just the prohibition of drugs, but a ban on the production and non-medical use of alcohol, attempting to reproduce on an international scale its alcohol prohibition regime that remained in force from 1920 to 1933. width: 310px; display: block; The logic and dilemmas of Like-Minded Groups. This meant that they imposed restrictions on exports but did not make it obligatory to declare drug use or cultivation illegal, let alone make these activities a criminal offence. (PDF version: Primer: The UN Drug Control Conventions). Commonwealth of Australia max-width: 60%; The INCB also tends to go beyond its mandate with regard to the controversial issue of reforming the treaties. The following year, the Netherlands pushed for a vote, mainly to uphold the basic principles of the CND scheduling procedure and to defend the important treaty mandate given to the WHO. The ECDD then makes recommendations for the scheduling (or de-scheduling) of substances according to international drug conventions. position: absolute; vertical-align: middle; Adequate access to controlled medicines is already a big problem in most developing countries, and withdrawing from the INCB-administered global system of estimates and requirements operating under the UN drug control conventions would risk making it even worse. The WHO Secretariat is responsible for gathering the necessary data for the critical review. Drug Policy Briefing No 13, April 2005, The Global Fix: The Construction of a Global Enforcement Regime, Crime & Globalisation Series, October 2005, The United Nations and Harm Reduction, Drug Policy Briefing No 12, March 2005, Challenging the UN drug control conventions. Given our size and limited resources, our national security and territorial integrity depend on upholding the rule of law in the international sphere, and we have always respected and complied with our international obligations, just as we expect others to do the same. The UN Drug Control Conventions A primer For more than ten years, TNI's Drugs & Democracy programme has been studying the UN drug control conventions and the institutional architecture of the UN drug control regime. narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances under international control are issued under document symbol ST/CND/1/Add.3. Moreover, a set of normative instruments and multilateral bodies and systems were developed to help States implement and adjudicate such regulation. position: relative; background-color: #009edb; The 1988 United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances significantly reinforced the obligation of countries to apply criminal sanctions to combat all the aspects of illicit production, possession and trafficking of drugs. The 1961 and 1971 Conventions classify controlled substances in four lists or Schedules, according to their perceived therapeutic value and potential risk of abuse. Article 33 of the 1961 Single Convention says that The Parties shall not permit the possession of drugs except under legal authority (and, in such authorised cases, solely for medical and scientific purposes) while Article 36, paragraph 1, obliges the Parties to declare possession a punishable offence. #memberStatesIndex { padding: 10px; As we approach the 2016 UNGASS, this primer is a tool to better understand the role of these conventions, the scope and limits of their flexibility, the mandates they established for the CND, the INCB and the WHO, and the various options for treaty reform. ABN: 83 605 426 759, The Office of Drug Control is part of the Health Products Regulation Group, Sporting teams - Military exercises - Medical aid missions, Australian Advisory Council on the Medicinal Use of Cannabis (AACMC), Risk management approach to the cultivation, production and manufacture of medicinal cannabis, Medicinal cannabis single licence and permit reforms. Over time, such an inter se agreement might evolve into an alternative treaty framework to which more and more countries could adhere, while avoiding the cumbersome process of unanimous approval of amendments to the current regime. Human rights are explicitly mentioned only once in the three treaties: in Article 14(2) of the 1988 Convention. } The Case for Dynamic Interpretation of the International Drug Control Conventions. : US 9,358,295 B2 Tygesen Et Al Federal Register/Vol. [For further information on this subject, see the report, The development of international drug control, p. 8-10]. font-weight: 700; } The proposal to create an international legal framework governing psychoactive substances was an initiative of the United States that dates back to the start of the 20th century and has gone through several stages since then. As a last resort, the treaties empower INCB to recommend to parties that they stop importing drugs from a defaulting country, exporting drugs to it or both. } Mandate and Functions; Membership; INCB President; . Within these Conventions, there has until recently been limited robust scientific information about the Page 3 of 3 health effects of cannabis for the ECDD to consider its review. According to Yale Law Professor Laurence R. Helfer, a categorical ban on denunciation and reaccession with reservations would be unwise. .photo-credit { /*top: 100px;*/ .section1 { The International Drug Control Conventions. } .international-items.resolution { Problems and possibilities - Special Issue on the UNGASS Mid-term Review. /* ************* side bar nav menu **************** */ text-decoration: underline; The Bolivian amendment failed after 18 countries objected and Bolivia decided not to pursue the case but instead denounce the treaty and re-adhere with a reservation that had a similar effect but only for Bolivia. Index. .vertical-line-left { The International Opium Convention (or 1912 Opium Convention) which was signed at the end of the Hague Conference, on 23 January 1912, is considered as the first international drug control treaty. .blue-well a:hover { This database can be searched in different ways: by country, or by topics, or by free-text search. The scheduling under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs assumes a scientific justification. In 1961, the United Nations began holding periodic conferences on the issue of drug control. This treaty also significantly reinforced the obligation of countries to establish criminal offences in order to combat all aspects of the illicit production, possession and trafficking of psychoactive substances. (See more atWorld Drug Report 2020). According to the Convention on Psychotropic Substances (Article 2, paragraph 5), the CND, taking into account the information received from WHO whose assessment shall be determinative as to medical and scientific matters, and bearing in mind the economic, social, legal, administrative and other factors it may consider relevant makes a scheduling decision with regard to the substance. Criminal law related provisions can be found through the . a.icon-blue-book::after { Schedule IV includes some weaker barbiturates such as phenobarbital, other hypnotics, hypnotic anxiolytics, benzodiazepines and some weaker stimulants. Also, being party to all three of the drug control conventions is a condition in a number of preferential trade agreements or for accession to the European Union. The CNDs annual meetings in Vienna are a forum for nations to debate and pass resolutions on drug policies. ol.ol-lower-latin { font-size: 2rem !important; text-align: right; font-family: 'FontAwesome'; 1. None of the options offers an easy escape from the demands of the current treaties, which prohibit a shift to legal regulation. .observance-item-title a:hover { If objections are submitted, ECOSOC must decide if a conference of the parties need be convened to negotiate the amendment. The present system of worldwide drug control is regulated by three international conventions. What were the objectives of the 1988 Convention? content:'\f2b9'; } font-family: FontAwesome; The idea of negotiating this new treaty was to respond to the diversification of drug use, with the objective of controlling a whole new range of psychoactive substances (which became fashionable in the 1960s) such as amphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepines and psychedelic drugs, which were likewise classified in four Schedules. Article 23 also requires countries to set up a government agency to take charge of controlling the licit cultivation of opium poppy for medicines, and Articles 26 and 28 say that the same system of controls should also be applied to licit coca and cannabis cultivation. In theory, a group of countries seeking to resolve the dilemma of legal non-compliance with the treaties in the case of cannabis regulation (as is currently the case with Uruguay and the U.S.) could make use of an inter se modification. padding-right: 6px; Are the classified substances listed in the treaties Schedules illegal? /* ****** effects for headers ***** */ To better understand what is involved in the mandates of each of these bodies, we describe them below: The CND is a multilateral forum established by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) as one of its technical commissions on 16 February 1946. box-shadow: 0 10px 20px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19), 0 6px 6px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.23); In the case of cannabis, opium poppy and coca, a removal from the Schedules would not immediately end all international control and an amendment to the text of the treaty may be required as well. Until recently, even discussing a reform of the conventions was a political taboo that was informally accepted as necessary to preserve the delicate Vienna consensus in the area of drug control. color: #ffffff !important; The Conventionestablished an international control system for psychotropic substances. } The international drug control system is based on three Conventions; the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, as amended by the 1972 protocol; the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971; and the United Nations Convention against illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances of 1988. text-align: center; In 2011 the 1961 UN Single Convention on drugs will be in place for 50 years. margin: auto 0; } UN. The chapter also includes a discussion of the challenges } margin-bottom: 0px; It is intended to limit the possession, consumption, trade, distribution, import, export, manufacture and production of drugs only for medical and scientific purposes. For more than ten years, TNIs Drugs & Democracy programme has been studying the UN drug control conventions and the institutional architecture of the UN drug control regime. There are good reasons to legally regulate drugs markets, rather than persist with efforts to ban all non-medical uses of psychoactive substances. } margin-top: 1em; Problems and possibilities, Breaking the Impasse: Polarisation and Paralysis in UN Drug Control, New Possibilities for Change in International Drug Control, UNGASS 2016: Prospects for Treaty Reform and UN System-Wide Coherence on Drug Policy, IDPC response to the 2012 Annual Report of the International Narcotics Control Board, Roadmaps for reforming the UN Conventions, Challenges and future work in the review of substances for possible scheduling recommendations, Evolution of International Drug Control 1945-1995, Fact Sheet: Coca leaf and the UN Drugs Conventions. Conventions. /*padding: 35px 35px; The INCB is itself a creation of the conventions, and it derives from them not only its authority but its very existence. font-weight: 700; } In Southeast Asia and China, hundreds of thousands of people are held for months and sometimes years in compulsory detention centres for drug users, where they are supposed to be given 'treatment'. Although many government officials admit in private that the conventions are inconsistent and outdated, they hesitate to do so publicly because of the potential political costs that open dissent could imply for their countries. } The CND is a political commission rather than a group of experts whose job it is to discuss and decide on best practices for all countries. Regulated cannabis and coca markets are already a reality in several countries, with more likely to follow. The Expert Committee undertakes two types of review in order to formulate its recommendations: a pre-review and a critical review. The international drug control conventions, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Resource Information The item The international drug control conventions, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime represents a specific, individual, material embodiment of a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in University of Missouri Libraries . In 1972, at a UN Conference in Geneva, the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugswas modified by the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. } padding: 5rem; color:#ffffff; The Conventions emphasis on tackling trafficking may be understood to indicate that countries are not obliged by virtue of Article 36 of the 1961 Convention to declare simple possession a crime. .observance-item-title { Due to COVID-19, traffickers may have to find new routes and methods, and trafficking activities via the darknet and shipments by mail may increase, despite the international postal supply chain being disrupted. The Single Convention set the target of abolishing traditional uses of opium within 15 years, and traditional uses of coca and cannabis within 25 years. What were the objectives of the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances? But the three drug control conventions lack such mechanisms to enable evolution of the system over time. INCB endeavours, in cooperation with Governments, to ensure that adequate supplies of drugs are available for medical and scientific uses and that the diversion of drugs from licit sources to illicit channels does not occur. vertical-align: middle; [More information on the CND]. The question appearing on the international agenda is no longer whether or not there is a need to reassess and modernize the UN drug control system, but rather when and how. } padding: 1em 1em; It has been over half a century since the landmark Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs was adopted, for the first time unifying international drug policy under a single treaty aimed at limiting use, manufacture, trade, possession, and trafficking of opiates, cannabis, and other narcotics.
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