February 28, 2020

Anna Murray 

In accordance with article 33 of the 1988 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) has been committed to taking measures to protect children from the illicit use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and to prevent children from working the illicit production and drugs trafficking as well.

The INCB Annual Report 2019 was launched on February 27 to reveal its results after examining the global narcotics situation about young people and it proposes recommendations to worldwide governments and regional and international organizations.

According to the INCB Annual Report 2019, the study showed among children aged between 16 and 19, the early use of alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis leads to a high likelihood of opiates and cocaine in adulthood. The report also criticized the decriminalization of cannabis in some countries. It warned that substance abuse and related health consequences were the worst among adolescents with cannabis being the most widely used substance.

Based on international standards of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the INCB Annual Report 2019 set out several recommendations for countering the problem regarding adolescents. The INCB emphasized prevention programs in limiting young people's access to tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis.

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