1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances

Preamble
  • Harm reduction
  • Access to controlled medicines

Being concerned with the health and welfare of mankind
  • Harm reduction
  • Access to controlled medicines

Recognizing that the use of psychotropic substances for medical and scientific purposes is indispensable and that their availability for such purposes should not be unduly restricted.
  • Access to controlled medicines

Article 20(1) The Parties shall take all practicable measures for the prevention of abuse of psychotropic substances and for the early identification, treatment, education, after-care, rehabilitation and social reintegration of the persons involved, and shall co-ordinate their efforts to these ends.
  • Harm reduction

Article 22

(a) Subject to its constitutional limitations, each Party shall ensure that all serious offences shall be liable to adequate punishment, particularly by imprisonment or other penalty of deprivation of liberty.

(b) Notwithstanding the preceding sub-paragraph, when abusers of psychotropic substances have committed such offences, the Parties may provide, either as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to punishment, that such abusers undergo measures of treatment, education, after-care, rehabilitation and social reintegration in conformity with paragraph 1 of article 20.

  • Flexibilities in the UN drug conventions
  • Alternatives to punishment

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While not explicitly connected to harm reduction it is important to frequently recall the purpose of the 1971 Convention set out in its opening line – this provides essential context for the treaty provisions, including those relating to treatment and aftercare (art 20)

It is important to connect the later clause of the preamble to opioid substitution therapy. Buprenorphine are on the model essential medicines list of WHO for this reason.

See also the commentary on art 3 of the 1988 convention with regard to treatment and aftercare as an alternative to conviction or punishment, and that explicitly includes OST as a component of treatment as envisaged by the treaties - Para. 3.109:
‘Treatment’ will typically include counseling, group counseling or referral to a support group, which may involve out-patient day care, day support, in-patient care or therapeutic community support. A number of treatment facilities may prescribe pharmacological treatment such as methadone maintenance, but treatment referrals are most frequently to drug-free programmes.’

See also UNDCP 2002 legal opinion on the status of harm reduction interventions under the UN drugs conventions.

  • Harm reduction
  • Access to controlled medicines