Launch of the INCB Annual Reports 2015 Werner Sipp, INCB President 2 March 2016 1
The 3 Reports 2
Mandate of INCB Promote and monitor compliance with the 3 international drug control conventions by: Annual Reports + Publications Missions to countries Ongoing dialogue with Governments 3
UNGASS 2016 Goal of the special session 2016: Assessment of the achievements and challenges Review of the progress in the implementation of the 2009 Political Declaration 4
Role of INCB: UNGASS 2016 not primarily to propose "new approaches", but to clarify the approaches and principles of the existing system, to identify shortcomings in drug policies and to make recommendations within the existing conventions 5
INCB Annual Report 2015 4 Chapters: I. Health and welfare of mankind II. Functioning of the international drug control system III. Analysis of the world situation IV. Recommendations 6
Chapter I: Health and welfare of mankind Health and welfare is the ultimate goal of the 3 drug control conventions Balanced and humane approach: Ensuring availability for medical and scientific purposes Limiting the use of drugs exclusively to medical and scientific purposes Reducing demand, through prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, reduction of the adverse consequences of drug abuse and reintegration Reducing illicit supply of drugs 7
Health and welfare for society Promoting social health and welfare: prevention and reduction of social harms associated with the abuse of drugs Proportionality: alternative to conviction or punishment Respect for human rights: consistency of drug control action with international human rights standards Take into account socio-economic factors 8
Health and welfare of mankind Conclusions & Recommendations Prevention of drug abuse is main objective in promoting health and welfare Policies and practices should be grounded in: evidence and scientific knowledge respect for human rights the principle of proportionality Reducing the adverse health and social consequences of drug abuse is a complementary element of a comprehensive drug demand reduction strategy 9
Health and welfare of mankind Conclusions & Recommendations UNGASS 2016 should reaffirm the fundamental principles of the conventions and the Political Declarations Policies and practice should strive for a better implementation of these principles The conventions do not call for a war on drugs : War on drugs, militarized law enforcement, over-incarceration, policies that disregard human rights, denial of medically appropriate treatment, are not in accordance with the principles of the conventions. 10
Chapter II: Functioning of the drug control system Control of the licit trade Estimates & assessment Import & Export authorization Prevention of diversion Treaty compliance - Countries in focus: Ecuador France Jamaica Morocco Philippines Special topics: Use of benzodiazepines among older people New psychoactive substances (NPS) New developments in precursors control 11
Use of benzodiazepines among older people Risks of unwarranted prescribing and overuse Targeted marketing by industry Risk of dependence and developing dementia Sound prescribing practices for benzodiazepines Need for caregivers to be aware of risks of overuse Guidelines for clinical care and training for health-care providers 12
New psychoactive substances (NPS) A growing public health challenge Over 600 new substances reported from 2014 till October 2015 : > 55 % increase 10 NPS scheduled by Commission on Narcotics Drugs in 2015 INCB calls on Governments to devise solutions to protect the public from harms posed by NPS INCB Project ION Incident Communication System (IONICS):- over 500 NPS incidents reported in 2015 13
Chapter III: World drug situation 14
AFRICA West Africa: key transit region for drug trafficking, particularly: cocaine into Europe North Africa: primary source of drugs entering Europe East Africa: trafficking hub for Afghan heroin to Europe Increasing drug abuse, especially among young people Southern African and sub-saharan countries: Unsafe injecting practices lead to rise of HIV Abuse of ketamine and tramadol 15
AMERICAS Central America and the Caribbean Increasing drug abuse Drug-related criminality and violence North America Highest rate of drug-related deaths worldwide Expanding prescription drugs Cannabis: more potent and growing abuse South America Coca bush cultivation in Bolivia and Peru fell in 2014 Cocaine abuse on the rise in Brazil Cannabis: legislative and regulatory changes 16
ASIA East and South-East Asia Proliferation of NPS and non scheduled precursors Largest number of people who inject drugs South Asia Heroin from Afghanistan remains great challenge Lack of regular national drug use surveys, poor data reliability West Asia Instability and insecurity undermining drug control Armed conflict and refugee crisis: increased demand for emergency supplies of controlled substances for medical purposes In Afghanistan, illicit opium poppy cultivation decreased 17
EUROPE Major market for drugs - locally produced and smuggled Western and Central Europe: rise in NPS Internet and social media are tools in illicit drug market: more than 600 websites selling NPS Highest prevalence rate of persons who inject drugs and who live with HIV in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe Drugs with the greatest annual prevalence : Cannabis: 19.3 million Cocaine: 3.4 million Ecstasy : 2.1 million Amphetamine: 1.6 million 18
OCEANIA Strong demand for methamphetamine Increase in abuse of NPS Australia adopted new legislation to respond to NPS A hub for the transhipment of cocaine 19
Chapter IV: Recommendations Health and welfare: main treaty objectives Demand reduction Proportionality Adequate access to controlled substances Treaty compliance 20
Report on Precursors 2015 Overview and analysis of the Precursor control situation Licit trade Trends in precursor trafficking Actions and achievements Observations and recommendations 21
Precursors trafficking trends Heroin precursors Acetic anhydride: declining seizures in Afghanistan low seizures around Afghanistan Cocaine precursors Diversion from domestic distribution channels Illicit manufacture from pre-precursors Synthetic drug precursors Fewer attempts to divert from licit international trade Diversification of chemicals in recent years: designer precursors 22
Areas for action on precursors Increase cooperation Governments-industry through public-private partnerships Intensify national efforts to prevent domestic diversion Enhance international cooperation by timely sharing of information via: International precursor trade monitoring (PEN Online) PICS: Precursor Incident Communication System Project Prism (on chemicals for amphetamine-type manufacture) Project Cohesion (on chemicals for illicit cocaine and heroin manufacture) 23
Report on Availability 2015 24
Opioid analgesics: Average annual use in 2011-2013 25
Anti-anxiety medicines: Average annual use in 2011-2013 26
Impediments to the availability of narcotic drugs (in 1995, in 2010, and in 2015) 70 60 50 Lack training/awareness for professionals Fear of addiction 40 % 30 20 Limited financial resources Problems in sourcing 10 0 1995 2010 2015 Onerous regulations 27
Impediments to the availability of psychotropic substances (2015) Lack of awareness/training 33 Problems in sourcing Fear of addiction Limited resources 28 29 29 Fear of diversion Cultural/social attitudes 22 23 Control measures applicable to international trade Fear of prosecution/sanction 17 18 Onerous regulatory framework 8 Action by the Board 1 0 10 20 30 40 Number of answers by States 28
Recommendations to improve availability Review legislation and regulatory systems Develop appropriate and well-resourced health infrastructure Ensuring affordable opioid analgesics Provide training to health-care professionals Disseminate information for educational and awareness-raising Improve estimates, assessments and reporting Establish benchmarks for consumption of psychoactive substances 29
Questions & Answers THANK YOU! 30