Legal Aspects of International Drug Control

The need for suppressing the illicit traffic in drugs can hardly be over-emphasized. Yet, the licit uses of drugs, especially for medical and scientific needs, cannot be suppressed. Apparently, it is a ques- tion of determining the vvorld requirements of drugs for such legiti- mate uses, and of producing and manufacturing them accordingly. Owing to their multifarious medical uses in various parts of the world, it proves to be almost impossible to determine exactly the amount of drugs required for legitimate purposes. There is also the complicating factor that drugs are used for sociological and religious reasons, which have a long history. Not only arc the licit uses and legitimate amounts of drugs difficult to determine but also such difficulties give rise to illicit traffic in them. Yet, it is believed that a concerted international policy, coupled with national co-operation, on various facets of the related problems-namely, limitation of production and/or manufacture of drugs, restriction on cultivation of plants that may contribute to addiction-producing substances, training and rehabilitation of drug addicts, and efficient national administration-would help eradicate drug-abuse. In search of an appropriate remedy, this book has been devoted to a practical study of the problem and to exploring, in this area of international law, the relationship between the political and econ- omic interests and the international economic order.