For information only – not an official document
UNIS/NAR/1430
22 January 2021
VIENNA, 22 January (United Nations Information Service) – The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) is developing an initiative on the control and monitoring requirements of cannabis and cannabis-related substances to support Member States in improving their control and reporting capacities. In this connection, INCB held a virtual Expert Group Meeting bringing together 16 experts from across the globe to discuss control of and reporting on cannabis for medical and scientific purposes from 18 to 21 January 2021.
The meeting reviewed the control and compliance issues as well as good practices related to cannabis cultivation and the manufacture of and international trade in cannabis and related products. Experts highlighted the importance of ensuring availability of cannabis-based substances for medical purposes and underlined that estimates should be improved to appropriately reflect the needs in the health care system. Disparities in control and monitoring capacities of countries in different regions of the world should also be taken into consideration.
The findings of the Expert Group Meeting will assist INCB in supporting Member States on the improvement of control and reporting capacities, ensure availability of cannabis and related products for medical and scientific purposes and prevent diversion to illicit channels and abuse.
In addition to the experts from Africa (Ethiopia, Lesotho and South Africa), the Americas (Canada, Colombia, Jamaica and the United States), Asia (Thailand), Europe (Austria, Czechia, Finland, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Switzerland) and Oceania (New Zealand), representatives from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Laboratory Section also joined the discussions. Further to the Expert Group Meeting, a series of activities, including a Second INCB Informal Consultation Meeting on the supply of cannabis raw material and demand for cannabinoids and a First Intergovernmental Meeting are being organized to collect inputs from experts, governments, private companies and civil society.
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INCB is the independent, quasi-judicial body charged with promoting and monitoring Government compliance with the three international drug control conventions: the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. Established by the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, the thirteen members of the Board are elected in a personal capacity by the Economic and Social Council for terms of five years.
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For further information please contact:
INCB Secretariat
Telephone for media inquiries: (+43-1) 26060 4163
Email: incb.secretariat[at]un.org
Website: www.incb.org
