Unregulated sales of drugs endanger lives of people: UN

Unregulated sales in places such as street markets and the Internet of both internationally controlled and counterfeit drugs endanger the lives of people world-wide, according to a UN-backed report of an independent drug control body.
"It is important for consumers to realise that what they think is a cut-price medication bought on an unregulated market may have potentially lethal effects whenever the consumed drugs are not the genuine product or are taken without medical advice," Dr Philip Emafo, President of the Vienna-based International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), said on Wednesday. "Instead of healing, (these drugs) can take lives," he added.
According to a report reaching here, the 2006 INCB report warns that unofficial drug sales, due to a lack of standards, result in substandard and even lethal medications going to unsuspecting customers. The drugs sold on the black market are often stolen from legitimate healthcare centres or retailers, illicitly manufactured or sold illegally on the Internet. To combat this problem, the INCB urges States Parties to at least one of the three main drug control treaties the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (as amended by the 1972 Protocol), the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances and the 1988 Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances to strengthen their law enforcement mechanisms, as well as implement effective policies to combat the production and sale of counterfeit drugs.
The INCB urges UN agencies, such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC), to assist Member States with better understanding the ramifications of illicit drug sales in the unregulated market as well as preventing the trafficking of these drugs.
The report also highlights developments in specific regions of the world. For example, the Board points out that the cultivation and production of cannabis and the trafficking of cocaine is on the rise in Africa, suggesting that African countries continue efforts to enhance their respective drug control policies.
Although, an independent body, the Board was established by the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances and the 1988 Convention against the Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
The Board's 13 members are nominated by their countries, but serve in their personal or expert capacities, providing information to the general public and experts around the world on matters of drug control, both from the standpoint of illegal drugs and also the standpoint of ensuring the availability of drugs that are controlled, but also legal and medically useful, said Hamid Ghodse, member INCB during his recent visit to Lahore while talking to Business Recorder.