Talk:International Narcotics Control Board
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Page scope
International Narcotics Control Board covers the International Narcotics Control Board itself: its origins in the older drug treaties, its composition and secretariat, its functions under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, and how it has dealt with cannabis. The conventions themselves, and the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, have pages of their own. The names of the current members are not listed, since they change with each election; the Board's own website keeps the list.
Data verification
Record source conflicts, dating problems and sources not used here. Keep narrative content on the article.
Discussion
Sources
- Treaty text. Articles 5 and 9 to 16, 19 and 28 are read from the consolidated English text of the Single Convention as amended in 1972, published by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (
convention_1961_en.pdf). The same file prints the 1972 Protocol, whose article 20(3) refers to "the increase in the membership of the Board from eleven to thirteen members". - The 1961 text. The Board's original size (eleven members) and term (three years) are from the UN Commentary of 1973 (Sales No. E.73.XI.1), which prints the unamended articles 9 and 10 (pp. 132, 143). The amended text gives thirteen members and five years.
- Start date. The Commentary (p. 1) dates the change-over to 2 March 1968, by Economic and Social Council resolution 1106 (XL). The Board's own website gives only the year 1968.
- The Board's own pages. Its self-description, composition, the personal capacity of members and the status of the secretariat are from the "Mandate and functions", "INCB membership" and "INCB secretariat" pages of incb.org, read on 15 October 2026.
- Annual reports. The thematic first chapters of the reports for 2018 (E/INCB/2018/1, on medical and other use of cannabis) and 2022 (E/INCB/2022/1, on legalisation of non-medical use) were read in full. Pinpoints are to chapter and paragraph.
- Statements on Uruguay and Canada. Both are cited from the Board's press releases: UNIS/NAR/1190 of 11 December 2013 (Uruguay) and UNIS/NAR/1362 of 17 October 2018 (Canada).
- Criticism. The International Drug Policy Consortium's Briefing Paper 7 (February 2008) and Bewley-Taylor, Blickman and Jelsma (2014, Transnational Institute and Global Drug Policy Observatory) are advocacy-sector policy papers. Their characterisations of the Board are attributed to them on the article.
Where the sources disagree
- How the Board was formed. The Board's "About us" page says it was established "by merging two bodies", the Permanent Central Narcotics Board and the Drug Supervisory Body. The Commentary says it replaced the Permanent Central Board from 2 March 1968 and took over in substance the functions of both organs (pp. 1, 133). The article says it replaced the Permanent Central Board and took over the work of both.
Open points
- Reports of 1997 and 2001. The Board's annual reports for 1997 and 2001 were not read. The article cites the passages on the Dutch coffee shops and the "more liberal cannabis policy" through the IDPC paper, which quotes them with paragraph references (1997 report, para. 28; 2001 report, para. 214).
- The Commission in 2002. Hamid Ghodse's statement at the Commission's session of 2002 is cited through Bewley-Taylor, Blickman and Jelsma (2014), not from the Commission's own report of that session.