Availability of Internationally Controlled Drugs: Ensuring Adequate Access for Medical and Scientific Purposes

The Board is presenting this special report to Member States in the hope that the analysis and recommendations presented therein may assist them in the development of national policies and control systems that are capable of achieving the goals of the international drug control conventions in relation to ensuring availability of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. Member States have already underlined the importance of this issue in a number of resolutions and political declarations adopted by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. They also referred to it in the Political Declaration of the High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases and in resolution WHA67.19 of the World Health Assembly, on strengthening of palliative care as a component of comprehensive care throughout the life course.