INCB Watch: Summer news from the International Narcotic Control Board

After a prolonged period of quiet on the INCB website, the Board has released its regular Newsletter detailing recent activities. Many of these have featured already on the IDPC's INCB Watch pages, such as the election of the President Mr Werner Sipp, and his presentation before ECOSOC in July 2015.

Other activities reported in the latest INCB Newsletter included its recent Missions to Italy, Iran and Moldova. In addition, the Board's Secretariat provided training to the national competent drugs authorities of Saudi Arabia and Kenya. The training covered the 'general obligations laid down in the UN drug control Conventions', and, specifically elaborated on the processes for establishing estimates for requirements of narcotic drugs and psychoactive substances for medical purposes, and for statistical returns on production, consumption and manufacture, and for the import and export system. Countries are required to report these data to the INCB.

The Board also gave a presentation in Dubai in June 2015, which focused on the availability of controlled drugs for medical and scientific uses, which included a workshop intended to assist national delegations to identify recommendations for national strategies.

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