Projections for the future development of international drug control policies

With the adoption of the Declaration and the Comprehensive Multidisciplinary Outline of Future Activities in Drug Abuse Control by the International Conference on Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (ICDAIT) in 1987 and the formulation in 1988 of the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, the United Nations has made significant contributions to international drug control policy, in line with its responsibilities under article 55 of the Charter. Governments are acting, separately and through regional and other collective organizations, to adapt these policies to their own particular needs and to make the legislative changes needed to enable ratification of the new Convention. Simultaneously, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs continues to carry out its policy-making function by identifying areas of concern on which consensus can be achieved as well as appropriate techniques for achieving effective international co-operation as foreseen in the Charter of the United Nations. The present article draws attention to recent developments pointing to possible areas of policy formulation. These include enhanced cooperation of law enforcement agencies with overlapping jurisdictions; judicial methodology and inter-system co-operation to follow on from seizures from the illicit traffic and detention of suspects to consideration of treatment methodology; and adaptation of demand reduction techniques to target groups beyond the reach of formal educational institutions. The trend towards horizontal integration of trafficking networks is examined in the context of indications linking illicit traffic in psychotropic substances to the production and trade of chemical weapons, such as poison gas, and to the cultivation of new markets in response to the saturation of certain North American markets for specific illicit drugs.