National drug policies

In many countries, the national dmg policy defines public policy relating to the pharmaceutical sector, including regulation. However, of the 10 countries studied, only four (Australia, the Netherlands, Uganda, Zimbabwe) have a written national dmg policy document. 

Countries nevertheless spell out their policy intentions in their dmg legislation, or incorporate their pharmaceutical policy into national planning documents. For example, Tunisia s national pharmaceutical policy is incorporated into its five-year economic development plan. In Malaysia, dmg legislation and regulations and a system for selection, procurement and distribution of essential dmgs all serve to describe that country s policy regarding the pharmaceutical sector. 

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To ensure avaUabihty at all times of essential, efficacious and cost effective drugs to the entire Ugandan population. National Drug Policy and Authority Statute, 1993. 

Ratanawijitrasin S. Soumerai S, Weerasuriya K. Do national drug policies and essential... 

WHO. How to develop and implement a national drug policy. Geneva World Health Organization ... 

The primary source of information and statistics on teen Ecstasy use is the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Each year, the department conducts three major surveys and uses that statistical data to aid in setting U.S. national drug policy and also in determining how best to devote financial resources in order to target areas of greatest need. The first. Monitoring the Future (MTF) Survey, is conducted by the University of... 

In line with reasons developed by Baker and Carapinha, Kinsley Wilson and colleagues also accept the premise that the state is primarily responsible for ensuring access to essential medicines. They suggest that countries should develop a National Drug Policy (NDP) and accompanying implementation plans. Countries need to establish adequate processes as far as the registration, selection, procurement, and distribution of drugs are concerned. 

Department of Health (DoH). 1996. National Drug Policy. Pretoria DoH. 

The following sections follow the framework developed by Cohen, Cercone, and Macaya (2002) to discuss government responsibilities in facilitating a robust pharmaceutical system and access to essential medicines. The discussion begins with national drug policies, followed by responsibilities in registration, selection, procurement, distribution, and service delivery. The discussion concludes with policy considerations. 

World Health Organization (WHO). 2001. How to Develop and Implement a National Drug Policy. 

Macoun, Robert, and Peter Reuter. Cross-National Drug Policy. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 582, July 2002. Thousand Oaks, Calif. SAGE Publications, 2002. This volume is a collection of papers on drug policy issues in many nations. Topics discussed include drug law enforcement, harm minimization, and legalization, as well as the economic, social, and political aspects of black markets in illegal drugs in Colombia, Iran, and Russia. 

While those in favor of medicinal marijuana provide large amounts of data indicating the benefits of making it a prescription drug, government authorities and others counter with claims that the data is unscientific. Recently, the Office of National Drug Policy has pledged to consider more serious clinical research on medicinal marijuana. 

To be effective, a small drug regulatory authority needs to operate within the context of a defined national drugs policy and to interrelate with other interested bodies, including organizations responsible for drug procurement in the public sector and the national formulary committee, where such exists. 

The National Drug Policy attempts to address the driving forms of the economy, including ... 

The main roles and responsibilities of the Thai FDA concerning pharmaceutical administration, besides those prescribed by the Drug Acts 1967 (B.E. 2510), [second revision 1975 (B.E. 2518), third rev. 1979 (B.E. 2522), fourth rev. 1984 (B.E. 2527), and fifth rev. 1987 (B.E. 2530)], are also described in the scope of the National Drug Policy which can be summarized into four areas ... 

The selection of essential medicines is one of the seven key components of a national drug policy (the other corn-... 

National drug policies are becoming more balanced in approach, with greater emphasis placed on demand reduction relative to supply reduction. 

These rates suggest little direct association between prevalence of problem drug use and national drug policy, since countries seem to have similar, often moderate, levels of use whether their policies are more liberal or more restrictive. Drug policies may, however, be significant in minimising some consequences of problem use, such as infections and overdoses. 

The Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs (EACD). "4-Methylthioamphetamine (4-MTA)." National Drug Policy A Policy for New Zealand, 1998-2003 (October 2002). 

Establishing indicators for international comparisons is more difficult. As noted elsewhere in this chapter and earlier in this volume (Chapter 2), variability can be expected in the manner, types and extent of data collected between countries. In addition, ongoing policy implementation and reform can make it difficult to identify and maintain compatible indicators over a period of time. However, certain indicators for international comparisons of national drug policies [4] and indicators of drug use [26] have been defined and they are worth examining if it is proposed to compare policies across borders. 

P. Brudon-Jakobowictz, J.-D. Rainhorn and M.R. Reich, Model Indicators for Monitoring National Drug Policies, World Health Organization, Geneva, 1995. 

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