221. The Board maintains the position expressed by it already in 1987 that Governments need to adopt measures that may decrease the sharing of hypodermic needles among injecting drug abusers in order to limit the spread of HIV/AIDS…
222. [the implementation of] drug substitution and maintenance treatment as one of the forms of medical treatment of drug addicts … does not constitute any breach of treaty provisions, whatever substance may be used for such treatment in line with established national sound medical practice.
INCB annual reports clarify that the Board, while not welcoming, is not opposed to harm reduction interventions, with the exception of safe consumption rooms. They also clarify that such interventions are not contrary to the UN drugs conventions.
- Harm reduction