International Narcotics Control Board - Responsibilities

Responsibilities

Article 9 of the Single Convention provides that the Board shall endeavour to:

• Limit the cultivation, production, manufacture and use of drugs to an adequate amount required for medical and scientific purposes;
• Ensure their availability for such purposes; and
• Prevent illicit cultivation, production and manufacture of, and illicit trafficking in and use of, drugs.

Thus, the Single Convention seeks to allow medical and scientific use of psychoactive drugs while preventing recreational use. Accordingly, Article 12 gives the Board the responsibility of allocating quotas among Parties concerning licit cultivation, production, manufacture, export, import, distribution and trade in an attempt to prevent leakage of drugs from licit sources into the illicit traffic. The Board establishes estimates for all nations, including non-Parties to the Single Convention.

Article 18 of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances requires the Board to issue annual reports on its work.

Article 12 of the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances requires the Board to report annually to the Commission on the implementation of the Convention's restrictions on chemicals in Table I and Table II, the treaty's two categories of precursor substances in illicit drug manufacture. In the case of a precursor substance not yet regulated, the Convention also requires the Board to communicate to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs an assessment of the substance if it finds that:

• The substance is frequently used in the illicit manufacture of a narcotic drug or psychotropic substance; and
• The volume and extent of the illicit manufacture of a narcotic drug or psychotropic substance creates serious public health or social problems, so as to warrant international action.

The Convention requires the Board to notify the United Nations Secretary-General whenever it has information which, in its opinion, may justify adding a substance to, deleting a substance from, or transferring a substance between, the Tables. The Secretary-General then transmits that information to the Parties and the Commission, and the Commission makes the decision, "taking into account the comments submitted by the Parties and the comments and recommendations of the Board, whose assessment shall be determinative as to scientific matters, and also taking into due consideration any other relevant factors".