Narcotics Control Board warns against 'permissive' view of drugs.

With drug abuse having reached unprecedented dimensions, especially among the young, the Board stated: "There are disquieting signs that in the face of the magnitude of the problem, determination may sometimes be giving way to permissiveness. Circles in certain countries apparently assume that to permit unrestricted use of some drugs, regarded by them as less harmful, would permit better control of other drugs which they deem more perilous to health. To adopt such an attitude would be retrogressive".

The Board's report (document E/INCB/1983/1, Sales No. E.83.XI.6), presented to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs at its February session in Vienna, reminds Governments that "non-medical consumption of cannabis is illegal under the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and that no Party to the Convention can authorize such use without being in violation of the Convention".

The Board also expressed the concern that:

"The magnitude of the damage caused by drug abuse to individuals and their families on the one hand and to countries' social fabrics on the other is such as to necessitate sustained and determined counteraction. Addiction strikes at random, but when it reaches young people it affects countries' futures. Illicit drug use and trafficking not only adversely affect economic development in many countries, but also contribute to the spreading of crime, violence and corruption. It is particularly sad that in many regions where narcotic plants are illicitly grown, there are recurrent food shortages which could have been alleviated, if plants for human nutrition had been cultivated instead of plants for human destruction".

The Board emphasized that any viable approach to correcting this situation "needs necessarily to emphasize the establishment of alternative income possibilities for farmers and the eradication of illicit narcotic crops as alternative crops are marketed".

The fact that the illicit growth of narcotic plants has not decreased overall is another reason for concern. There have been decreases in some areas but any reduction in one region in a given year has been more than offset by increases elsewhere. Amphetamine Abuse

The use and abuse of psychotropic substances, particularly amphetamines, which are often used in combination with alcohol or sedatives, is another contributing factor in the deteriorating situation. The diversion of these substances from licit channels is rising as is the number of clandestine laboratories producing them, the Board said. Amphetamines are particularly liable to abuse and illicit traffic and since their therapeutic value is limited, research should be encouraged on less dangerous substitute substances.

The drugs being abused by various sectors of society, but particularly the young, include opiates, cocaine, cannabis and a variety of psychotropic and other dependence-producing substances. The use of these drugs in combination and the increasingly hazardous ways in which they are used, are exacerbating the health dangers.

The Board urged all Governments that have not yet done so to accede to the 1961 Convention as amended by the 1972 Protocol and the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances. The Board also expressed the hope that the quality of information supplied to it by some countries under the 1961 Convention as it relates to the movement of drugs would be improved and that manufacturing-exporting countries would increase their vigilance to prevent diversion. All parties to the 1961 Convention were reminded that they are "obliged to take as effective measures as possible to eliminate illicit production of narcotic drugs, trafficking and abuse".

The Board expressed concern about the sale in some countries of publications promoting illicit drug use as well as of paraphernalia for drug taking. "This approach opens up dangerous perspectives making drug abuse appealing to large segments of the general public. It is indispensable that actions which contribute to spreading such abuse be countered and that imaginative prevention campaigns be waged to dissuade particularly the youth from such self-destructive behaviour."

The Board suggested that the International Youth Year, to be held in 1985, would be a useful time to stress the importance of drug dependence prevention.