UN Conventions

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For advert-free site go to www.palad.org.uk

PALAD critisism of UN Conventions posted on the Vienna 2003 website:

By Parents Against Lethal Addictive Drugs, Wales, UK [email protected]

1. The UN Conventions on Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances fail to regulate against the MISUSE of any drug. Instead they attempt to prohibit ALL USE of illegal drugs and permit ALL USE of legal drugs.
2. The Conventions fail to adopt internationally accepted definitions of substance misuse (e.g. WHO's ICD-10) which refer only to harm to user. These are health issues. They fail to refer to harm to others - theft to fund addiction (heroin), violence & accidents (alcohol) and passive smoking (tobacco). These may be regarded as criminal justice issues.
3. The Conventions fail to properly define 'narcotic' or 'psychotropic substances', defining them only as those drugs the UN define as such. These phrases should be replaced by, for example, 'non-medicinal drugs'. But see below the United Nations International Drug Control Programme's 'What is a drug?' which includes alcohol and tobacco.
4. The Conventions are not evidence-based, ignoring drugs that are far more dangerous than those listed. Evidence from the WHO shows that tobacco is the most dangerous drug. UK Government reports show that tobacco is more addictive than heroin, that tobacco addicts have a death rate several times higher than those addicted to street-quality heroin and that, unlike heroin, tobacco addicts kill hundreds in the UK annually through passive smoking.
5. The Conventions are socially divisive with the legal drug using majority discriminating against the illegal drug using minority. Imprisonment, and consequent criminal record, are extreme forms of social exclusion created by the Conventions.
6. The Conventions deny informed choice, so preventing citizens taking responsibility for their own health. Citizens are only permitted to choose legal drugs that Western governments profit from. Western governments are the biggest drug profiteers in the world. The UK government receives annually £20 billion from the licensing of 200,000 drug dealers selling the lethal addictive drugs alcohol and tobacco.
7. The Conventions are not concerned with health but with the prevention of the free trade in drugs that Western governments do not profit from, discriminating against developing countries with limited export potential. The World Trade Organisation fails to uphold the free trade in non-medicinal drugs, fuelling anti-Western feelings in developing countries. If Western governments are permitted to export alcohol and tobacco globally then Afghanistan should be permitted to export heroin. The UK government's Strategy Unit document, 'Rights of Exchange', states "A rules-based international trading system is important in order to avoid the dangers of protectionism which may be disguised as raising SHE [Social, Health & Environmental welfare] standards; there are ‘win-win’ policies available which both liberalise trade and improve SHE outcomes" and "Action to influence foreign production methods, including measures targeted at trade, should be avoided where the motive is to achieve a competitive advantage through the protection of domestic industry. This includes protectionism disguised as action in pursuit of SHE objectives."
8. A reformed drug policy would integrate legal and illegal drugs into a 'non-medicinal drugs' policy. It would educate against harm to user and only legislate against harm to others. Free trade would be permitted both within nations and internationally.
9. We believe campaigns referring to drug 'legalisation' alienate prohibitionists who may be genuinely concerned about drug misuse. We recommend the term 'drug policy reform'.

United Nations International Drug Control Programme:
"What are drugs?
A very basic question but one that needs to be clarified. For, if we start thinking of drugs as just the substances that cause problems or are abused by people we know, then we are likely to ignore other substances that, for one reason or another, are not thought of as drugs by our immediate communities. A psychoactive substance is any substance people take to change either the way they feel, think, or behave. This description covers alcohol and tobacco as well as other natural and manufactured drugs".
www.undcp.org/youthnet/pdf/handbook_what_are_drugs.pdf

END of post

 

In 1998 the UN & WHO accepted treatment as ALTERNATIVE to punishment:

DECLARATION ON THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF DRUG DEMAND REDUCTION

"14. In order to promote the social reintegration of drug-abusing offenders, where appropriate and consistent with the national laws and policies of Member States, Governments should consider providing, either as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to punishment, that abusers of drugs should undergo treatment, education, aftercare, rehabilitation and social reintegration. Member States should develop within the criminal justice system, where appropriate, capacities for assisting drug abusers with education, treatment and rehabilitation services. In this overall context, close cooperation between criminal justice, health and social systems is a necessity and should be encouraged". [my emphasis]
http://www.un.org/ga/20special/demand.htm

The World Health Organisation agrees:
"People with health problems should receive and benefit from health services and not punishment. The possible short and long term consequences of substance use include: mortality, morbidity, comorbidity, social isolation and stigma. People with substance dependence are among the most marginalized in societies and are in need of treatment and care. To incarcerate offenders for drug use and dependence is not an effective prevention or treatment strategy".
http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/PDFfiles/sabuse_myths_full.pdf

The International Narcotic Control Board, which oversees implementation of the United Nation's anti-drug treaties admits:
"None of the conventions require a party to convict or punish drug abusers who commit ... offences ... [that] have been established as punishable."
www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20031214/letters/letters1.html

 

Letter sent to Welsh MEPs asking them to support reform of UN Conventions

Links:

Campaigns for reform:

• Vienna 2003 (UN Drug Review, April 2003): www.edprc.org
• Transnational Institute: www.tni.org/drugs/index.htm
• European NGO Council on Drugs and Development: www.encod.org
• European Cities on Drug Policy: www.ecdp.net/news.htm
• See also Transform's excellent analysis: www.tdpi.org.uk/drug_policy_6.htm

EU:

European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drugs Addiction: www.emcdda.org/