The UN’s International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), which oversees compliance with the three international drug control conventions, recently issued an alert regarding policies on drug-related offenses.



In the announcement, the Board advocates for the decriminalization of simple possession, underscoring that “There is no obligation stemming from the conventions to incarcerate drug users who commit minor offences.”



In many countries, writes the Board, the “policies to address drug-related criminality, including personal use, have continued to be rooted primarily in punitive criminal justice responses,” such as prosecution and incarceration. Meanwhile, “alternative measures such as treatment, rehabilitation and social integration remain underutilized.”



The INCB also points to the discretion that is at each country’s disposal, noting that though Member States “have an obligation under the drug control conventions to establish certain behaviours as punishable offences,” that responsibility is subject to their Constitutions. Furthermore, when it comes to “minor drug-related offences including possession of small quantities of drugs for personal use . . . the conventions do not oblige States to adopt punitive responses.”



Additionally, the INCB’s recent announcement asks Member States to “consider the abolition of the death penalty for drug-related offences” and condemns the extrajudicial targeting of those suspected of illicit drug activity. This includes “violent acts of reprisal and murder at the hands of law enforcement,” which, the Board underscores, violate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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This stance mirrors comments made by INCB member Raúl Martín del Campo during a forum hosted by the Mexican Senate back in April. As legislators grappled with possibilities for the regulation of cannabis for adult use, del Campo noted that the conventions do not stipulate that countries have to opt for wars against narcotrafficking.

In an interview with Cannabis Wire, Steve Rolles, senior policy analyst at the Transform Drug Policy Foundation, a think tank based in Mexico and the UK, characterized the INCB’s alert as “an important shift in tone” prompted by other developments in the UN. Because the Board was established through the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 and serves as a compliance watchdog, he said, it has “historically been very conservative” and “prohibitionist in nature.”

However, in January, the UN’s Chief Executives Board, which is chaired by the Secretary General and represents 31 UN agencies, adopted a drug policy position that calls on Member States to “promote alternatives to conviction and punishment in appropriate cases, including the decriminalization of drug possession for personal use.”



This was significant, Rolles explained, because even though several UN agencies—including the World Health Organization and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights—made similar appeals in the past, the CEB statement “means it is now the common position for the entire UN family of agencies.” This, he added, is a tool for reform advocates in Member States.



In this context, he said, the INCB alert is “not a game changer, but it adds to the clamor.”



This piece was updated on June 5 to include comment from Steve Rolles.