United Nations Narcotics

An important step towards identification of C. edulis constituents was the discovery of (+)-norpseudoephedrine (cathine) in dried leaves by Wolfes in 1930 and during several decades this alkaloid was thought to be the main active principle of C. edulis [96]. However, as already pointed out by Brucke (1941), (+)-noipseudoephedrine is CNS stimulant of high potency and the amount of this substance that was present in a portion of C. edulis was insufficient to account for the symptoms observed after consumption of the material [97]. Subsequently, in the course of a reinvestigation of the constituents of C. edulis leaf, the United Nations Narcotics Laboratory identified this compound as a-aminopropiophenone and the name (-)-cathinone was proposed for the new alkaloid [98]. Since then, several researches on C. edulis constituents and its pharmacological effects have been recorded [99,100]. 

In order to evaluate possible risks involved in such a change, the United Nations Narcotics Laboratory has recently convened a working group of experts in Geneva to consider the feasibility of an illicit conversion of thebaine into drugs of abuse. The experts came to the conclusion that the available methods are not likely to be carried out in clandestine laboratories. Should the usual source for heroin production disappear, it would be much more probable that the illicit manufacture would shift to certain entirely synthetic materials of high physiological potency which are fairly easy to prepare. 

United Nations Narcotics Laboratory, Report of an Expert Group on the Feasibility of the Conversion of Thebaine into Drugs of Abuse and of Potential Abuse , January 1976, Geneva. 

The Opiates. The International Narcotics Control Board—Vienna, tracks the tick production of narcotic dmgs and annually estimates world requkements for the United Nations. Thek most recent pubHcation (100) points out that more than 95% of the opium for Hcit medical and scientific purposes is produced by India and, in a declining trend, only about 600 t was utilized in 1988. This trend appears to be due to the fact that the United States, the largest user of opium for alkaloid extraction, reduced the amount of opium being imported from about 440 t in 1986 to 249 t in 1987 and 224 t in 1988. The United States used about 48 t of morphine (2, R = H) in 1988, most (about 90%) being converted to codeine (2, R = CH3) and the remainder being used for oral adrninistration to the terminally ill (about 2 t) and for conversion to other materials of minor commercial import which, while clearly alkaloid-derived, are not naturally occurring. 

International Narcotics Control Board—Vienna, Narcotic Drugs, Estimated World Requirementsfor 1990, Statistics for 1988, United Nations Publ. E/F/S.89.XI.3, New York, 1989, pp. 33ff... 

Dogs Detecting Drugs. Bulletin on Narcotics —1976 Issue 3-004, United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention,... 

Finnegan LP (1979). Pathophysiological and behavioural effects of the transplacental transfer of narcotic drugs to the foetuses and neonates of narcotic-dependent mothers. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Available at http //www.unodc.org/unodc/en/ bulletin/bulletin 1979-01-01 3 page002.html n05... 

Cultivation of the plant in India began in the fifteenth century C.E. It was probably originally cultivated in Europe, but it is now grown in an area between Turkey and Southeast Asia. Poppies are grown commercially for pharmaceutical use, which is controlled by the International Narcotics Control Board of the United Nations. 

UN (1972) United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, United Nations, New York, 25 March 1972, p 44... 

The international community looks with interest at what results have been achieved and what further action is needed after nearly two decades of precursor control. Within its mandate under article 12 of the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988, the International Narcotics Control Board has a unique position and responsibility to provide some answers to those questions. 

A. Status of adherence to the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988 and reporting by Governments pursuant to article 12... 

Report of the International Narcotics Control Board for 2004 (United Nations publication. Sales No. E.05.XI.3). 

Governments of the countries and territories listed in the table below have provided on form D information on licit trade in, uses of and requirements for substances in Tables I and II of the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988 for the years 1999-2003. That information was requested in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1995/20 of 24 July 1995. Details may be made available on a case-by-case basis, subject to confidentiality of data. 

Under the International Drug Conventions, Member States are formally required to provide drug related information annually, as detailed by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, to the Secretary General of the United Nations (i.e. the Secretariat of UNODC). The Commission on Narcotic Drugs developed the Annual Reports Questionnaire (ARQ) to collect these data. 

United Nations Single Convention ON Narcotic Drugs (1961)... 

The newly founded United Nations establishes a Commission on Narcotic Drugs. 

The United States signs the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. 

As of 2002, about 14 million people worldwide use cocaine. According to the ONDCP, the United States leads the world in cocaine abuse. While U.S. cocaine use has remained relatively stable over the last decade, the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs reported in March 2000 that 34 countries out of 112 reported an increase in cocaine use from 1997 to 1998. In the European Union, the increase in cocaine use was mainly in the group of people aged 16 to 29 years. 

Methaqualone use and abuse in the United States dropped significantly after its reclassification to an illicit Schedule I drug. Fatalities and injuries related to the drug s use have also declined accordingly. According to the National Narcotics Intelligence Consumers Committee, annual U.S. emergency room visits related to methaqualone fell from 2,764 in 1982 to just 163 in 1988. 

Illicit Drug Traffic and Supply World Situation with Regard to Illicit Drug Trafficking and Action Taken by Subsidiary Bodies of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs United Nations Economic and Social Council, Commission on Narcotic Drags, 45th Session, Vienna, 11-15 March, 2002. . 

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