Resolution 57/10. Preventing the diversion of ketamine from legal sources while ensuring its availability for medical use

Recalling also its resolution 49/6 of 17 March 2006, in which it called upon Member States to pay particular attention to the emerging problem of widespread abuse of and trafficking in ketamine and encouraged Member States to consider adopting a system of import and export certificates for use by their government agencies,

Recognizing that ketamine is included in the World Health Organization Model List of Essential Medicines, and recalling the Joint Ministerial Statement adopted at the high-level segment of the fifty-seventh session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, in which ministers and government representatives called upon Member States to ensure the availability of essential medicines, while simultaneously preventing their diversion from legal sources,

Mindful of the licit use of ketamine as an anaesthetic in both human and veterinary medicine, noting that, in some parts of the world, ketamine is the only means of providing anaesthesia, and noting also that in its 2012 critical review of ketamine the World Health Organization stated that international control measures could have an adverse impact on its availability and accessibility,

2. Also invites Member States, where the domestic situation so requires, to consider controlling the use of ketamine by placing it on a list of substances controlled under their national legislation, while simultaneously ensuring access to ketamine for medical and scientific purposes, consistent with the international drug control conventions;

3. Urges Member States, where appropriate, to pay special attention to the need to adopt comprehensive measures to ensure adequate availability of and access to ketamine for medical and scientific purposes, especially for surgery and anaesthesia used in human and veterinary care, while simultaneously preventing its abuse, diversion and trafficking;

5. Encourages Member States to consider adopting an import and export authorization system for licit international trade in ketamine while ensuring access to ketamine for medical and scientific purposes;