The goals of universal peace, security, development and social justice set out in the United Nations Charter could not be realized without tackling the drug problem, Hamid Ghodse, President of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference held this morning on the occasion of the twentieth special session of the General Assembly devoted to countering the world drug problem together.
The media had a very important role to play in support of drug control efforts worldwide, Mr. Ghodse said. The media increased awareness of drug problems pointed to developments through courageous intervention and put pressure on governments and communities to respond to problems where and when they emerged.
The INCB was an independent, quasi-judicial board that was independent from the United Nations, Mr. Ghodse said. The Board's secretariat, however, was a part of the United Nations. Members of the Board were elected by the Economic and Social Council based on their own capacities and were not "under any flags". Their role was to monitor and evaluate implementation of the drug-related Conventions.
Mr. Ghodse said the Board would not shy away from indicating problems where they existed -- to do so would mean it had failed in its duty. That was why he had always asked for the support of the media. The Board had been trying to contribute to the excellent work of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) and other agencies since the early 1990s, he added.
A correspondent asked how the Board felt about the legalization of drugs. Mr. Ghodse said the Board had made its position quite clear in its report of 1992. The Board appreciated the frustration of the public, government officials and people in the field, that the war against drugs had failed. A certain sector of society wanted, through the legalization of drugs, a "short cut". Tobacco had become legal 300 years ago -- how many hundreds of millions of people had died prematurely in that period as a result of smoking? he asked. If it were a new substance today, would tobacco be legalized? No psychoactive drugs or substances should go down the road that tobacco and alcohol had taken.
Asked where the money to fund the fight against drugs would come from, Mr. Ghodse said the historic meetings of the past few days would be wasted if adequate resources and funding were not provided. Developing countries needed the support of richer ones. Not only did they need financial support, they also needed technical and moral support. If that was not provided, all the
INCB Briefing - 2 - 10 June 1998
advances of the past few years would become words on paper. During the Assembly debate thus far, no States had committed themselves to providing specific funds.
Herbert Schaepe, Secretary of the INCB, then took the floor to comment on the question. He said he did not think that lack of money was the problem being faced -- rather the problem was one of political will. The current session had helped in forming such determination. When the various action plans were considered, it became evident that there would not be one large fund from which the money would come. There would be many different funds at different levels. If there was a good programme, the money would be found.
Asked to comment on the reasons for the perceived failure of the drug war so far, Mr. Ghodse referred to the British Opium War in China during the nineteenth century. He said that war had succeeded in legalizing drugs in China, which had resulted in 20 million opium smokers in that country by the end of the century. That experiment had been disastrous -- if all of the world's current drug addicts were put together, they would not equal the number that there had been, at the turn of the century, in two or three countries.
He wished to confirm that there had not been much development in the treatment, rehabilitation and fight against drug abuse in the past century. There had been advancement, but no one had received a Nobel Prize for tackling the drug abuse problem. The issue was very complex and needed to be addressed in a concerted fashion. In addition to political will, technical and financial supports were needed. Hopefully, the twenty-first century would be the turning point. It was necessary to continue to contain, to try to reduce and to change the culture of acceptance of drugs, Mr. Ghodse added.
In response to another question about legalization, Mr. Ghodse said that many times more people died each day from tobacco and alcohol use than from use of illicit drugs. That did not mean that illicit drugs were safer than tobacco and alcohol. Equivalent use of illicit drugs would result in increased incidents of hospitalization. No psychoactive substances which affected the brain should be legalized for non-medical uses.
In closing remarks, Mr. Ghodse said that universal ratification and implementation of the drug Conventions, as well as international cooperation, were keys to success. Three quarters of the governments of the world had ratified one or more of the Conventions. However, the world remained far from universal implementation of those Conventions. The pressure of the media upon governments to ratify and implement the Conventions was, therefore, essential.
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