Drug Injection Rooms - Not in Line with International Conventions
October 6th, 2008 | Published by BRAHA Editor in Drug Law
The International Narcotics Control Board is associated with the United Nations and, as the name implies, oversees the International Conventions on Narcotic Drugs. Here is an article from their website (www.incb.org) which states that they view drug
The Board, which is mandated to monitor how Governments implement the provisions of the international drug control treaties, examined whether such drug injection rooms are in conformity with the provisions of the treaties and concluded that they are not in line with the international drug control conventions. In its current 1999 report, the Board stresses its belief that, “any national, state or local authority that permits the establishment and operation of such drug injection rooms [...] also facilitates illicit drug trafficking.”
The Board further reminds Governments that they, “have an obligation to combat illicit drug trafficking in all its forms. The United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988, requires parties [...] to establish possession and purchase of drugs for personal (non-medical) consumption as a criminal offence.”
The drug control treaties also require Governments to take action against illicit drug trafficking. “By permitting injection rooms, a Government could be considered to be in contravention of the international drug control conventions by facilitating in, aiding and/or abetting the commission of possession and use crimes, as well as other criminal offences including drug trafficking. In this regard, it should be recalled that many decades ago, the drug control conventions were established, inter alia, precisely to eliminate places such as opium dens, where drugs could be abused with impunity.”
Instead of establishing injection rooms or similar outlets, the Board “encourages Governments to provide a wide range of treatment facilities including the medically supervised administration of prescription drugs in line with sound medical practice and the international drug control conventions.”
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