roadmaps to reforming the un drug conventions - Beckley Foundation

Parties would be allowed to permit small-scale cultivation, manufacture, production,import and export of drugs for personal use, and import, export and distribution ofsmall quantities of drugs for others’ personal use. They would also be allowed to permitpossession of drugs for personal use, and personal use itself, whether or not for medicalpurposes. The new provision would not affect Parties’ obligation to limit ‘trade in’ drugsexclusively to medical and scientific purposes. Parties would not be allowed to permitany of these activities to be undertaken for pecuniary gain, unless for a medical orscientific purpose.The proposed new Article 3 bis would limit the scope of Parties’ obligations underArticle 4(c) without any technical need for direct amendment of the provision, which isalready subject to the provisions of the Convention. The new Article 3 bis would make itclear that non-commercial and small-scale actions with respect to drugs are entirelyexempt from all the provisions of the Convention (other than Article 30(2)(b)).However, since Article 4(c) sets out Parties’ general obligations under the Convention,ideally these obligations should be clear from the text of that article, without the need torefer to other provisions. Accordingly, it is proposed that Article 4(c) should beamended to make it clear that its scope extends only to actions that involve more than asmall quantity of drugs or that are undertaken for commercial purposes.In addition, the reference to ‘use’ of drugs in Article 4(c) would effectively be maderedundant by the new Article 3 bis. This is because, for the reasons discussed above, it islikely that Parties’ obligation to limit ‘use’ of drugs to medical and scientific purposeswould cover only personal consumption. Therefore, there would be no need to retainthe word ‘use’ in Article 4(c), and to do so may give rise to uncertainty as to the effect ofthe new article. Accordingly, it is suggested that ‘use’ should be deleted from Article4(c).4.4.3 Option 1 – amendment of Article 4(c)The following amendments should be made to Article 4(c):1. After ‘medical and scientific purposes’:a) insert a colonb) on a new line, insert ‘(i) trade in drugs; and’c) on a new line, insert ‘(ii)’2. Delete ‘trade in, use’3. After ‘possession of drugs’, insert ‘, unless in small quantities and for a noncommercialpurpose’.Article 4. General ObligationsThe parties shall take such legislative and administrative measures as may be necessary:…87