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| Summary |
This book records the recommendations of a WHO expert committee commissioned to evaluate selected psychoactive substances and recommend an appropriate level of control under the international conventions on narcotic drugs and psychoactive substances. When making its recommendations, the committee balances consideration of a drug's therapeutic usefulness against data on its pharmacological and toxicological properties, evidence of its dependence potential and likelihood of abuse, and an assessment of the corresponding risk to public health.
The report opens with a brief discussion of the criteria used when the committee reviews data on a psychoactive substances and recommends an appropriate level of control under the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances. Subsequent sections summarize the evidence that formed the basis for scheduling recommendations for three substances: dihydroetorphine, ephedrine, and remifentanil.
Concerning scheduling procedures, the committee considered a proposal, issued in response to the problems raised by the clandestine synthesis of psychoactive drugs, to extend international control collectively to isomers, esters, ethers, and pharmacological analogues of controlled substances.
The report also includes pre-reviews of six psychoactive substances, including benzodiazepines and tobacco, in order to determine the need for critical review in the context of the international drug control system. For tobacco, a critical review was not recommended in view of WHO work towards the development of an international framework convention for tobacco control. |
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