International drug control conventions

The international drug control conventions are three United Nations treaties, the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs as amended in 1972, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 UN Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, that together set the global legal framework for regulating controlled substances. Ratified by nearly every UN member state, they classify around 340 substances, ensure a regulated supply of those judged useful for medical and scientific purposes, and restrict other uses, with implementation overseen by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the International Narcotics Control Board and the World Health Organization. Because the conventions are not self-executing and must be implemented through domestic law, a growing number of countries have moved toward cannabis legalization or decriminalization even though formal amendment of the treaties themselves remains politically unlikely.