Report Of The International Narcotics Control Board On The Availability Of Internationally Controlled Drugs

The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) is the independent and quasi-judicial monitoring body for the implementation of the United Nations international drug control conventions. The INCB annual report serves as a “stock-taking” of achievements made, challenges faced and additional e𒣿orts required.

"The International Narcotics Control Board was invited by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs at its fifty-third session, in March 2010, to include in its report for 2010 information on the availability of internationally controlled substances for medical requirements. The Board is aware of the growing interest of the World Health Organization, other intergovernmental bodies and non-governmental organizations in this matter. In recognition of its importance, the Board has decided to devote a supplement to its annual report to this subject. This format allows the Board to provide adequate information on the present situation, globally and regionally, to highlight major impediments and to formulate recommendations to improve the availability of internationally controlled substances for medical and scientific purposes. A detailed analysis is contained in the Board's technical publications on narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances."--Editor.

PDF versions of 5 related publications prepared by the International Narcotics Control Board in 2010.

This annual report prepared by The Board provides a comprehensive account of the global drug situation, analyses trends in drug abuse and drug trafficking and suggests necessary remedial action. Divided into four parts, it covers the following topics: drugs and corruption, functioning of the international drug control system, analysis of the world situation and finally, a set of recommendations to governments, the United Nations and other relevant international and regional organizations. A set of Annexes follows.

Many illicit drug markets have reached global dimensions and require control strategies on a comparable scale. In that context, there is a need to better understand these transnational markets and the manner in which they operate. The annual Report, produced by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, is a contribution towards that objective. It provides an overview of the illicit drug situation worldwide and regionally, analytical discussions of the key transnational drug markets and statistical trends for all major drug categories.

This annual report from the International Narcotics Control Board gives an extensive analysis of illicit drug abuse and the efforts to control it at the national and international level. The 2004 report contains chapters on the following topics: the interaction between supply and demand of illicit drugs and the need for integrated reduction strategies; the operation of the international drug control system, including the national drug control strategy adopted by Afghanistan; and a review of the world and regional situation in terms of treaty adherence, national policies and regional co-operation, cultivation, production, trafficking and abuse.

The Report continues to provide in depth trend analysis of the four main drug markets in its first section. In addition, to mark the one hundred year anniversary of the Shanghai Opium Commission, and one hundred years of international drug control, the Report contains an in-depth look at the development of the international drug control system. The Report also contains a small statistical annex which provides a detailed look at production, prices and consumption. As in previous years, the present Report is based on data obtained primarily from the annual reports questionnaire (ARQ) sent by Governments to UNODC in 2007, supplemented by other sources when necessary and where available. Two of the main limitations herein are: (i) that ARQ reporting is not systematic enough, both in terms of number of countries responding and of content, and (ii) that most countries lack the adequate monitoring systems required to produce reliable, comprehensive and internationally comparable data. National monitoring systems are, however, improving and UNODC has contributed to this process.