United Nations drug control conventions

The United Nations drug control conventions, officially known as the international drug control conventions, are four international legal instruments that together establish the legal framework for international drug control and the war on drugs: the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, the 1972 Protocol amending the 1961 Convention, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971), and the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988). with respectively 186, 184 and 191 UN member states are parties to each of these treaties.

The conventions

The treaties are complementary and mutually supportive. The core goals are to maintain a list of controlled drugs, to ensure a consistent supply for medical and scientific use, and to otherwise prevent production and distribution of those drugs. The treaties are not self-executing, they operate indirectly by providing a skeleton template of provisions that have to fleshed out in the domestic law of each party state. Thus each country has some flexibility in conforming treaty obligations to their own socio-cultural, political and economic realities.

The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs consolidated and integrated the nine existing international drug treaties in a single framework; the previous treaties, the earliest dating back to 1912, were terminated when the Single Convention came into effect. The subsequent two conventions addressed new concerns and development.

Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 (and its 1972 amendment)

Main article: Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs

The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 was adopted in 1961, entered into force on December 13, 1964 and was amended in 1972. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Single Convention aims to

combat drug abuse by coordinated international action. There are two forms of intervention and control that work together. First, it seeks to limit the possession, use, trade in, distribution, import, export, manufacture and production of drugs exclusively to medical and scientific purposes. Second, it combats drug trafficking through international cooperation to deter and discourage drug traffickers.

Notably, however, there exist exemptions and exceptions to this limitation "exclusively to medical and scientific purposes" such as exemptions for the cultivation of industrial hemp (article 28), for the use of coca leaf as flavouring agent in beverages (article 27), and for the general exemption of any drug used for other than medical and scientific purposes (article 2 paragraph 9).

The Single Convention classified drugs in four schedules; among these, Schedule IV allows countries the option to apply a fully prohibitive policy. It includes substances like heroin, and included cannabis until 2021. The Single Convention merged two pre-existing bodies to create the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) to monitor and administrate licit trade in controlled drugs.

Convention on Psychotropic Substances

Main article: Convention on Psychotropic Substances

The Convention on Psychotropic Substances was adopted in 1971 and entered into force on August 16, 1976, It addressed a number of synthetic psychotropic substances, such as amphetamines, barbiturates, and LSD, that had become widely used since World War II, and especially in the 1960s, that were generally not regulated internationally. According to the UNODC, the convention "responded to the diversification and expansion of the spectrum of drugs of abuse and introduced controls over a number of synthetic drugs according to their abuse potential on the one hand and their therapeutic value on the other." The convention established a four-schedule drug classification system, different in nature from the Single Convention schedules.

United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances

Main article: Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances

The United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances was adopted in 1988 and entered into force on November 11, 1990. According to the UNODC, the convention "provides comprehensive measures against drug trafficking, including provisions against money laundering and the diversion of precursor chemicals. It provides for international cooperation through, for example, extradition of drug traffickers, controlled deliveries and transfer of proceedings." It addresses drug trafficking specifically, through criminalization and punitive measures expected to be adopted domestically by countries party to the treaty; it is "essentially an instrument of international criminal law" that "criminalized the entire drug market chain, from cultivation/production to shipment, sale, and possession."

Philosophy, origins, architects

Some authors postulate that "racism, fear, economic interests, domestic and international politics, global trade, domestic protectionism, war, arms control initiatives, the Cold War, development aid, and various corporate agendas", significantly shaped the conventions. Powerful personalities played outsized roles in shaping the policies: "while in positions of power at opportune moments, their beliefs, morals, ambitions and single-minded determination enabled them to exert exceptional influence over the shape of the international drug control regime." The efforts from the 1930s to the 1960s of US drug control commissioner Harry Anslinger and his Canadian counterpart and ally, Charles Henry Ludovic Sharman, are particularly notable. Even though we know Anslinger withdrew from the negotiations and fiercely opposed the USA ratifying the Single Convention until his retirement in 1967.

Administrative structure

At the center of the UN drug control system is the 53-member Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), a subsidiary body of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The CND is the UN's main drug policy body, responsible for the drug classification schedules and policy guidance among others.

The CND is the governing body of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which advises governments on implementation of the conventions and produces an annual World Drug Report. Observers have criticised that UNODC's focus is mainly on security and law enforcement, rather than public health.

The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) is an independent treaty body, mandated by the Single Convention, that monitors implementation of the conventions and oversees the legal drug supply. Central to its function is an annual set of reports, submitted to ECOSOC through the CND, that overlook the global drug situation. The reporting identifies and predicts problem trends and suggests corrective actions. Technical reports list estimated national requirements, and production, manufacture, trade and consumption data, for controlled drugs for medical and scientific use, gathered from individual countries. Trends in trafficking in precursors and essential chemicals for illicit drug manufacture, and evaluation of government measures taken to prevent that traffic, are also reported. The INCB can call out non-compliance in its reports and in public statements, and by alerting the CND and ECOSOC.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is responsible for providing the CND with the scientific evidence used in determining drug scheduling and treaty amendments.

Status of adhesion

The conventions are legally binding on its parties.

Withdrawal

In case of fundamental disagreements, Parties can withdraw from the conventions. This could however have immediate practical consequences, particularly for developing nations. The conventions regulate trade in legal pharmaceuticals (including for some medicines being simultaneously listed on the WHO's list of essential medicines). Leaving the system could make securing medicine more difficult, although the international drug control system has been shown to hamper access and availability to medicines in and of itself. Being party to the three conventions is also an implicit requirement for certain trade agreements, and for access to the European Union (EU).

Interpretation and compliance

Interpretation of any piece of international law is "an art not a science". The conventions define "clear limitations [and] also provide a degree of latitude for policy choices at the national and subnational level." One study examining this latitude established three categories of deviation by party states: permissible policies deviate while being generally accepted, contested policies are vigorously defended as in fact being within the guidelines, and impermissible policies are clear breaches of the conventions.

Criminalization of personal activities

In 2001, Portugal decriminalized the purchase and possession for personal use of all psychoactive drugs. It maintained its drug convention obligations by changing the form of prohibition from criminal law to administrative law. Users no longer faced criminal penalties, however, they still had to obtain drugs from illegal sources, as selling remained a criminal act. Initially with a negative view, the INCB in 2005 accepted the policy as legitimate, finding that "the practice of exempting small quantities of drugs from criminal prosecution is consistent with the international drug control treaties".

As of 2024 there are dozens of countries worldwide having decriminalized personal activities, in line with the latitude allowed by the Conventions in this regard.

Legalization of cannabis

In November 2012, two US states, Colorado (Amendment 64) and Washington (Initiative 502), legalized cannabis. The INCB had warned, "Implementing the decisions of popular votes held in the United States in Colorado and Washington to allow for the recreational use of cannabis would be a violation of international laws." In August 2013, US Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the federal government would not act against states opening cannabis stores, with the expectation that state regulations would be ""tough in practice, not just on paper, and include strong, state-based enforcement efforts, backed by adequate funding." The UN did not propose sanctions against the US.

In December, 2013, Uruguay legalized cannabis, with the law taking effect in April 2014, making it the first country to do so in breach of the UN drug conventions to which it is a party. The INCB condemned the move and stated that Uruguay "knowingly decided to break the universally agreed and internationally endorsed legal provisions", citing the Single Convention; the Convention Against Illicit Traffic also requires that cannabis possession be criminalized. The statement continued: "Cannabis is not only addictive but may also affect some fundamental brain functions, IQ potential, and academic and job performance and impair driving skills. Smoking cannabis is more carcinogenic than smoking tobacco."

However, the INCB has no legal mandate to interpret the Conventions, and there is no clear breach of the Conventions' obligations insofar exemptions allow the regulation of drugs used for other than medical and scientific purposes in the context of industry.

Modification and reform

In March 2016, the International Narcotics Control Board stated that the UN's international drug treaties do not mandate a "war on drugs" and that the choice is not between "'militarized' drug law enforcement on one hand and the legalization of non-medical use of drugs on the other", health and welfare should be the focus of drug policy.

In April 2016, the UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on the "World Drug Problem" was held. The Wall Street Journal assessed the attendees' positions as "somewhat" in two camps: "Some European and South American countries as well as the U.S. favored softer approaches. Eastern countries such as China and Russia and most Muslim nations like Iran, Indonesia and Pakistan remained staunchly opposed." The outcome document recommended treatment, prevention and other public health measures, and committed to "intensifying our efforts to prevent and counter" drug production and trafficking, through, "inter alia, more effective drug-related crime prevention and law enforcement measures."