Article 20

STATISTICAL RETURNS TO BE FURNISHED TO THE BOARD

General comments

1. The international narcotics regime has from its beginning provided for statistical reports of Governments. 1 A few examples may be given of the use which can be made by intergovernmental organs and Governments of the statistical data furnished under the terms of the Single Convention.

2. The statistical returns indicate whether a country or territory has exceeded its manufacturing and import limits; 2 they may reveal the extent of illicit traffic and the effectiveness of the enforcement organs fighting it; 3 and they may show whether a Government is carrying out its obligation to prevent the excessive accumulation of drugs in the possession of manufacturers, traders and State enterprises. 4 A comparison of export figures and corresponding import data may disclose the possibility of diversion of international shipments into illicit channels. A study of the figures on the area in a country cultivated with the opium poppy for the production of opium s and of those on the extent of the opium harvest may throw some light on the size of diversion of opium from the legal crops into the illicit traffic. It may also lead to the conclusion that legal opium production is not profitable in the country concerned, and that its farmers can undertake it only because many of them sell
a part of their crop at the higher prices of the illicit market. The consumption figures may show a medical abuse of drugs, that is, abuse of drugs obtained on medical prescription, and may offer some clue to the incidence of addiction in a country which permits addicts to obtain maintenance dosages from legal sources. Import and export statistics also assist Governments in carrying out their obligation not knowingly to permit the export of drugs to any country and territory except within the limits of the total of the estimates for that country or territory, 6 and those statistics are employed by the Board in determining whether it is authorized to order the cessation of the export of a drug or drugs to a particular country or territory. 7

3. For provisions regarding statistical information on drugs required for temporarily authorized non-medical consumption and on coca leaves whose alkaloids are destroyed and which are needed for making a flavouring agent, see respectively article 49, paragraph 3, subparagraph (b), and article 27, paragraph 2; see also article 2, paragraph 9, subparagraph (b) in respect of statistical information on drugs used in industry for other than medical or scientific purposes.

1 Article 21, subpara. (b) of the 1912 Convention; article 10 of the 1925 Agreement, articles 22 and 23 of the 1925 Convention; article 22 of the 1931 Convention, and article 4, para. (c) and article 9 of the 1953 Protocol; see also article 13, para. 2, subpara. (c) of the 1931 Convention.

2 Article 21, para 1; see also in this respect article 14, para. 3 of the 1931 Convention, article 12, para. 2 of the 1953 Protocol and article 15, para. 1 of the Single Convention.

3 Article 20, para. 1, subpara. (e).

4 Article 29, para. 3 and article 30, para. 2, subpara. (a). 5 Article 20, para. 3; see below, comments on that para. Article 31, para. 1, subpara. (b).

5 Article 21, para. 4 of the Single Convention; see also article 14, para. 2 of the 1931 Convention and article 8, para. 11 of the 1953 Protocol.

Paragraph l, introductory part

1. The Parties shall furnish to the Board for each of their territories, in the manner and form prescribed by the Board, statistical returns on forms supplied by it in respect of the following matters:

Commentary

1. The Board must supply to Parties and non-Parties alike the forms which it requires to be used for the statistical returns. While the Single Convention does not expressly authorize the Board to request non-Parties to furnish statistical information pursuant to its provisions, the authors of the treaty appear to have considered that such an authority is implied by the terms of the Convention.1

2. All Governments should therefore inform the Secretariat of the Board in time of their need for supplies of statistical forms. Non-Parties may take into account not only that it is in the interest of the family of nations as a whole that they furnish the required statistical data, but also that a failure to do so may cause them disadvantages or at least inconveniences in their international trade in drugs. 1

3. At the time of this writing the Board requires the use of one form for the annual reports, 2 and of another form 3 for the quarterly reports to be made under article 20. A third form 4 is prescribed for annual statistics on narcotic drugs used for the non-medical purposes temporarily authorized under article 49. 5

4. The statistical information which must be furnished under article 20 must be expressed in terms of the pure drug content of the crude drugs, refined drugs, salts and preparations to be taken into account. 6 As regards preparations in Schedule III, however, the only information which needs to be supplied is the quantities of drugs utilized for the (wholesale) compounding of such preparations, again expressed in terms of the pure drug content of the drugs involved.

5. The Board requests, however, that in the case of opium preparations (including medicinal opium), 8 extracts and tinctures of opium, coca leaf and cannabis and other coca leaf preparations, a special method that it describes in detail should be employed, 9 rather than taking account of the actual content of the basic drug (opium, coca leaf or cannabis as the case may be) in the calculation of the statistical figures to be reported by Governments.

6. As regards the "manner and form" which may be prescribed by the Board, see above, comments on article 13, paragraph 1.

7. The term "territories", as used in the subparagraph under consideration, includes not only "territories" within the meaning of article 1, paragraph 1, subparagraph (y), i.e. parts of a State treated as separate entities for the application of the import certificate and export authorization system provided in article 31, but also whole States which are not so divided. to
 

1 See above, comments on article 13, para. 1.

2 Form C/S (4th edition, November 1969); the form is also to be used for annual statistical information to be supplied under provisions of earlier treaties which are still in force, i.e. of the 1925 Convention, the 1931 Convention, the 1948 Protocol and the 1953 Protocol. Separate information on the utilization of coca leaves for the manufacture of a flavouring agent if the leaves are not also used for the extraction of alkaloids, is also to be given on this form (table I, page 4 and foot-note j on page 7).

3 Form A/S (5th edition, November 1969). This form is also used for quarterly statistics under the earlier treaties referred to in the preceding foot-note.

4 Form R/S.

5 See also the annex to the statistical forms ("Yellow List") (14th edition, March 1970) containing a list of narcotic drugs in Schedule I of the Single Convention, a list of drugs in Schedule II, a list of preparations in Schedule 111, an alphabetical list of names of narcotic drugs, their salts or preparations (including some trade names) and tables showing the pure drug content of bases and salts as well as the equivalents, in terms of the pure drug, of extracts and tinctures; see also the Multilingual List of Narcotic Drugs under International Control; document E/CN.7/513, United Nations publication, Sales No. E/F/S/R.69.XI.1), published and brought up to date from time to time by the United Nations Secretariat.

6 Form C/S (4th edition) of the Board, instruction 3 and form A/S (5th edition) of the Board, instructions 3 and 5; article 2, para. 3 of the Single Convention; see also above, comments on article 1, para. 1, subpara. (n), article 2, para. 3 and article 19, para. 1, introductory part.

7 Article 2, para. 4 and the above comments on that paragraph; see also the references in the preceding foot-note.

8 Article 1, para. 1, subpara. (o).

9 Form C/S referred to in foot-note 2, instruction 4; see also form A/S, instruction 4.

10 See above, comments on article 1, para. 1, subpara. (y); see also article 19, para. 1, introductory part.

Paragraph 1, subparagraph (a)

(a) Production or manufacture of drugs;

Commentary

1. For the terms "production" and "manufacture", see article 1, paragraph 1, subparagraphs (t) and (n), and comments on those subparagraphs. It may be noted that only the separation of opium, coca leaves, cannabis and cannabis resin from the plants from which they are obtained constitutes "production" in the sense of the Single Convention. All other processes by which drugs are obtained are "manufacture", even if they involve separation from a plant. At present, Schedules I and II contain no substance other than the four just mentioned which is obtained by separation from a plant. It cannot, however, be excluded that in the future another substance which is obtained by separation from a plant will be added to Schedules I and II by the operation of article 3, and thus become a "drug". The separation of such a drug from its plant would be "manufacture", and not "production".

2. The separation of poppy straw and cannabis leaves (when not accompanied by the tops of the cannabis plant) from their plants is neither "manufacture" nor "production" in the sense of the Single Convention; but if in the future particularly potent kinds of cannabis leaves (not accompanied by the tops), for example, are included either in Schedule I or II and thus become "drugs", their separation from the plant would become "manufacture" and not "production".

3. Statistical information must be given on the manufacture of all drugs, whether they are obtained from uncontrolled substances, poppy straw 1 or other "drugs".

4. The salts, which are separately listed in the Schedules, must be considered to be "drugs" separate from their "bases". The Board could therefore, under the subparagraph under consideration, require separate statistics on the manufacture of base drugs and their salts. Governments are not, however, requested to furnish such separate information, but only to supply figures on the pure drug content of the drugs which they manufacture, whether in the form of their bases or their salts. The Board does not need and therefore does not request such separate data. As at present applied by the Board, the term "manufacture" as used in subparagraph (a) does not include the transformation of base drugs into their salts. 2

5. According to the definition in article 1, paragraph 1, subparagraph (n), the term "manufacture" includes "refining". The Board could therefore ask for separate information on the manufacture of crude drugs and on their refining. It does not, however, at present request such separate data. The information which States are requested to supply covers only the pure drug content of the drugs which they manufacture, whether they are in a crude or in a refined form. 3 As subparagraph (a) is at present applied by the Board, refining is therefore not "manufacture" for the purposes of this paragraph; it is, however, governed by other rules of the 4 Convention controlling "manufacture".

6. In one case, however, in which the crude drug is listed in Schedule I separately from its refined form, the Board requests figures on the manufacture of both, since both "concentrate of poppy straw" (which is in fact crude morphine) 5 and morphine are separate drugs for the purposes of the Single Convention; but only "concentrate of poppy straw" which is "made available in trade" s is held to be a separate drug. Separate figures need not be furnished on the concentrate when it forms only an intermediary stage in a continuous process of the manufacture of morphine from poppy straw.

7. When a drug is manufactured and then transformed into another drug, figures must be furnished on the quantities obtained by both processes; for example, a country which manufactures morphine and makes codeine, ethylmorphine, heroin, hydromorphone and pholcodine therefrom must furnish figures on the manufacture of morphine and on that of each of those other drugs which it makes from morphine, but data need not be furnished on the manufacture of a drug which appears only as an intermediary stage in a continuous process of manufacturing a drug or a substance not covered by the Single Convention.

8. Since the Board is authorized to determine "the manner and form" in which Parties should supply their statistics, it may require that the total quantity of a drug obtained by manufacture be divided into subitems giving the various quantities of that drug obtained from different source materials. The Board thus calls upon Governments not only to indicate the total quantity of morphine that they manufacture, but also the amounts of morphine that they obtain from "the concentrate of poppy straw", from opium or from poppy straw; likewise, they are required not only to furnish the figure of the total quantity of codeine that they manufacture, but also information on the amounts of this drug obtained from morphine, or as a by-product direct from "concentrate of poppy straw" used for the manufacture of morphine, or as a by-product of the process of manufacture of morphine from poppy straw. 7

9. Since the rules of the Single Convention which apply to a drug generally also govern its preparations, ' Governments could also be requested to furnish data on the manufacture of preparations. They could, however, be required to furnish figures only on the amounts of drugs contained in the various preparations that they have manufactured. s The Board does not, however, need this information, and specifically calls the attention of Governments to the fact that they should not include data on preparations in their statistical returns on the manufacture of drugs. 9

10. The Single Convention also requires Parties to furnish separate statistical data on the production 1° of opium, coca leaves, cannabis and cannabis resin and on the manufacture of extracts and tinctures of cannabis when ever these processes are undertaken for non-medical purposes temporarily authorized under article 49. 11

1 Poppy straw is neither listed in Schedule I nor in Schedule II, and is therefore not a "drug", but is subject to some control measures specially applying to it; see above, comments on article 1, para. 1, subparas. (p), (q) and (r).

2 This transformation would however, be "manufacture" for other provisions of the Single Convention; see above, comments on article 1, para. 1, subpara. (n). 3

3 Form C/S (4th edition, November 1969) of the International Narcotics Control Board, instruction 3.

4 See above, comments on article 1, para. 1, subpara. (n).

5 It was in fact considered to be crude morphine under the terms of the 1931 (and 1925) Convention; see form C/S (referred to in the preceding foot-note), instruction 2.

6 Schedule 1, form C/S, foot-note (1) to table I (p. 7).

7 Form C/S, table I, columns A and B, see also article 22, para. 1, subpara. (b) of the 1925 Convention.

8 Article 2, para. 3.

9 Form C/S, instruction 3.

10 The Board requests at present that the data on production be furnished on form R/S.

11 Article 49, para. 3, subpara. (b).
 

Paragraph 1, subparagraph (b)

(b) Utilization of drugs for the manufacture of other drugs, of preparations in Schedule III and of substances not covered by this Convention, and utilization of poppy straw for the manufacture of drugs;

Commentary

1. Separate figures must be furnished on the utilization of drugs for each of the three purposes mentioned in the subparagraph under consideration. I The form which the Board prescribes for the annual statistical returns under article 20 therefore divides its column on the utilization of drugs for manufacture into three sections, one for the quantity of each drug used for the manufacture of other drugs, the second for the quantity of each drug used for the (wholesale) compounding of preparations in Schedule III, and the third for the quantity of each drug used for making substances not covered by the Single Convention. 2 The Board requires Governments to indicate the name of each drug or uncontrolled substance so obtained, but not the designations of preparations in Schedule III. The quantity of each drug made is reported to the Board under article 20, paragraph 1, subparagraph (a), which provides for the furnishing of data on manufacture. These manufacturing figures are sometimes subdivided into the amounts obtained from each source material. 3 The quantities of substances not covered by the Single Convention which are made from drugs need not be given. The amounts of drugs used in industry for other than medical or scientific purposes would r iso have to be furnished to the Board. 4 The quantity of coca leaves used for preparation of a flavouring agent must be given to the extent that the leaves are not also used for the extraction of alkaloids. 5

2. The Board has thus at its disposal the quantity of each drug utilized for each of the three purposes mentioned in subparagraph (b), as well as the quantity of each drug so obtained, but not the quantities of the manufactured substances not covered by the Single Convention nor those of the compounded preparations in Schedule III.

3. The quantities of drugs utilized by retail pharmacists for the compounding of preparations in Schedule III should not be included in the figures to be given under subparagraph (b). Drugs obtained by the pharmacists for such a purpose are considered to have been "consumed", since they form a part of the amounts "supplied to any person or enterprise for retail distribution, medical use or scientific research". 6 They are included in the figures which Governments report on "consumption" of drugs under article 20, paragraph 1, subparagraph (c).

4. The Board does not require Governments to report the amounts of drugs used for the manufacture of their salts 7 or those used for the compound ing of preparations other than those in Schedule III The Board does not need this information, although it could hypothetically ask for it since salts, being separately listed in Schedules I and 11, are drugs separate from their bases, and article 2, paragraph 3 provides that these preparations are subject to the same measures of control as the drugs which they contain. 8

5. It is submitted, on the other hand, that the Board may not under the subparagraph under consideration require information on the quantities of crude drugs utilized for the making of refined drugs, although the process of "refining" is "manufacture" as defined in article 1, paragraph 1, subparagraph (n).

6. A refined drug is not a different drug from the same drug in its crude state. An exception is concentrate of poppy straw (which is in fact crude morphine) and morphine, because both are separately listed in Schedule I, and thus are different drugs for the purposes of the Single Convention. Governments must therefore report the quantities of "concentrate of poppy straw" utilized for the manufacture of morphine, but only if the concentrate in question has been "made available in trade". 9 "Concentrate of poppy straw" which forms only an intermediary stage in a continuous process of manufacture of morphine from poppy straw need not be taken into account in computing the amounts to be reported to the Board. In such a case, only the quantity of poppy straw utilized for the manufacture of morphine must be reported, but this quantity need not be indicated as having been used for the manufacture of the concentrate of the poppy straw, nor has the quantity of the concentrate to be reported as having been utilized for the manufacture of morphine.

7. More generally, drugs which form only an intermediary stage in a continuous process of manufacturing from drugs, other drugs or substances not covered by the Single Convention need not be taken into consideration in the reports under subparagraph (b); for example, if codeine is only an intermediary stage in a continuous process of manufacturing dihydrocodeine from thebaine, only the quantity of thebaine utilized for the manufacture of dihydrocodeine, and not that of codeine used for that purpose, has to be reported. Nor, for the purposes of subparagraph (b), has the thebaine to be considered as having been utilized for the manufacture of codeine. Similarly, if heroin forms only an intermediary stage in a continuous process of manufacturing nalorphine, an uncontrolled substance from morphine, only the morphine should be considered to have been utilized for the manufacture of nalorphine and not the heroin; nor in such a case would it be necessary to consider the morphine as having been utilized for the manufacture of heroin. 10

8. Isomers, esters and ethers, on the other hand, must be considered as drugs separate from those whose chemical variations they are. The quantity of a drug utilized for the manufacture of its isomer, ester or ether has therefore to be reported under subparagraph (b). Poppy straw is the only substance which, while not being a drug 11 is subject to reporting pursuant to subparagraph (b). The quantities of poppy straw utilized for the manufacture of morphine or for that of concentrate of poppy straw must be reported, but in the latter case only if the concentrate has been "made available in trade". 12

9. The quantities of drugs utilized for the purposes mentioned in subparagraph (b) must be reported in terms of their pure drug content. 13

10. See above, comments on article 19, paragraph 1, subparagraph (b).

1 See also above, comments on art. 19, para. 1, subpara. (b).

2 Form C/S (4th edition, November 1969) of the International Narcotics Control Board, column C of table 1, subdivided into sections 1, 2 and 3.

3 Form C/S, table 1, columns A and B, see under entries "morphine and its salts" and "codeine and its salts".

4 Article 2, para. 9, subpara. (b).

5 Article 27, para. 2; Form C/S, table I, column C, section 3, entry "coca leaf", foot-note (j), (p. 7). If the coca leaves are used for both purposes, this must be indicated (in the space headed "Remarks" on page 3 of the form).

6 Art. 1, para. 2.

7 Whether hydrochlorides or sulfates.

8 Form C/S, table I, column C, foot-notes (c) and (d) (p. 7); see also comments on art. 20, para. 1, subpara. (a).

9 See the definition of the "concentrate of poppy straw" in Schedule 1.

10 See also Commentary on the 1931 Convention, para. 51, p. 84.

11 See above, comments on art. 1, para. 1, subparas. (p), (q) and (r).

12 It will be noted that Governments are not required to furnish estimates of their requirements of poppy straw to be utilized for the manufacture of drugs; art. 19, para. 1, subpara. (b).

13 Form C/S, instruction 3.

Paragraph 1, subparagraph (c)

(c) Consumption of drugs;

Commentary

1. In view of the definition of the terms "consumed" and "consumption" in paragraph 2 of article 1, the Board explains that, for the purposes of reporting under subparagraph (c), the phrase "quantity consumed" means "the amounts supplied for retail distribution, medical use or scientific research, to any person, enterprise or institute (retail pharmacists, other authorized retail distributors, institutions or qualified persons duly authorized to exercise therapeutic or scientific functions: doctors, dentists, veterinarians, hospitals, dispensaries and similar health institutions, both public and private; scientific institutes)". 1 To express this in more general terms, the term "consumption" as used in the Single Convention means the transfer of drugs from the manufacturing or wholesale level of the drug economy to its retail level. Drugs acquired by retail pharmacists for the compounding of preparations in Schedule III are therefore to be considered to have been "consumed" for the purposes of statistical reporting under subparagraph (c), and when so utilized are not to be taken into account in compiling the figures under subparagraph (b) on drugs utilized for the manufacture of such preparations. 2

2. Similarly, the quantities of drugs imported by retail pharmacists must be taken into account in calculating the figures on consumption as well as those on imports pursuant to subparagraph (d). In the case of small territories which do not produce, manufacture or engage in wholesale trade in drugs and which obtain all their drug requirements by means of import by retail pharmacists, the consumption figures will be equal to their import figure.

3. The figures on consumption of drugs, whether in the form of crude or refined drugs, salts or preparations, must be expressed in terms of their pure drug content. The Board requires, however, that in the case of opium preparations (including "medicinal opium", 2 extracts and tinctures of opium, coca leaf and cannabis and other coca leaf preparations, other methods of computation should be employed, which it describes in detail in the form which it prescribes for annual statistics in accordance with article 20. ' Drugs contained in preparations in Schedule III which are "consumed", i.e. transferred from the wholesale level to the retail level of the drug economy, are, however, not to be taken into consideration in the calculation of consumption statistics.

4. The figures concerning consumption to be furnished under subparagraph (c) relate to consumption for medical and scientific purposes. Data on the temporarily authorized non-medical consumption of opium, coca leaves, cannabis, cannabis resin and extracts and tinctures of cannabis must be separately supplied to the Board under article 49, paragraph 3, subparagraph (b). The Board has prescribed a separate form for annual statistics on narcotic drugs used for non-medical purposes. 5

5. It will be noted that the Single Convention provides for "consumption" statistics on all drugs, no matter whether they are listed in Schedule I or 11. The narcotics regime preceding that Convention excluded from the requirement of consumption statistics drugs in Group 11, c i.e., drugs having a similar legal position to that of drugs in Schedule II of the Single Convention.

6. See also above, comments on article 1, paragraph 2 and article 19, paragraph 1, subparagraph (a).

1 Form C/S (4th edition, November 1969) of the Board, table II, foot-note a, p. 9; see also comments on article 19, para. 1, subpara. (a).

2 See above, comments on subpara. (b).

3 Article 1, para. 1, subpara. (o).

4 Form C/S, instruction 4; see also above, comments on article 20, para. 1, introductory part.

5 Form R/S.

6 Article 13, para. 2, subpara. (c) of the 1931 Convention.

Paragraph 1, subparagraph (d)

(d) Imports and exports of drugs and poppy straw;

Commentary

1. On the basis of its authority 1 to determine the manner and form of the statistical returns which Governments should supply, the Board requires exporting countries to specify the amounts they ship to each country and territory, and requires importing countries to subdivide the quantities which they obtain by country or territory of origin. 2 The Board needs these details not only to check the accuracy of the figures by comparing the import data with corresponding export data, but also to determine the advisability of requesting Governments to investigate whether a discrepancy between export and import figures is due to diversion of international shipments into illicit channels. Moreover, by having this detailed information at its disposal, the Board is not only in a position to determine post factum whether a country or territory exceeded its supply limits (i.e. the quantities of drugs which it was entitled to obtain by manufacture and import) a in the preceding year, but may also be able to correct during the course of any year a situation in which a country or territory has exceeded the limits for that year, 4 since the international trade statistics are furnished quarterly. It may be noted that the Single Convention requires quarterly statistics on the international trade in all drugs, both those in Schedule I and Schedule 11, 5 while the international regime preceding that Convention provided only for annual returns in regard to exports and imports of drugs in Group 11. 6

2. For quarterly statistics on the international drug trade, the Board requires the use of a form 7 different from that prescribed for the annual statistics under article 20. s At the time of this writing, the Board requests that the separate information which Governments should supply on the international trade in opium, coca leaves, cannabis (including extracts and tinctures of cannabis) and cannabis resin for temporarily authorized nonmedical purposes 9 should be sent on a third form specially provided for annual statistics on narcotic drugs used for non-medical purposes. 1° Governments are thus asked to furnish data on their imports and exports for nonmedical purposes only annually, and not quarterly. The Board is, however, entitled to require this information on a quarterly basis.

3. The Board explains that statistics on international trade should be based on the time of actual movement of the drugs across frontiers, and not on the date of the import and export authorization or on that of customs clearance. 11 The establishment of the exact date on which an import or export takes place is sometimes of importance for determining in which of two succeeding submissions of quarterly statistics the transaction should be reported. See above, comments on article 1, paragraph 1, subparagraph (m).

4. The country or territory which exported the goods and whose competent authorities have issued the export authorization is to be considered the exporting country or territory. The Board adds in its present instructions that if no such authorization has been issued, the country or territory from which the goods were actually despatched to the importing country or territory 12 should be deemed to be the exporting country or territory.

5. In order to determine which country or territory is to be considered to be the importer, exporting Governments are advised to consider that entity as importer which imported the goods and whose competent authorities have issued the import certificate. The Board adds here again in its present instructions that if no such certificate has been issued, the country or territory to which the goods were actually despatched 13 should be considered to be the importer.

6. The term "import" should be considered to include entrance of drugs from abroad into a bonded warehouse, free port or free zone, and the term "export" to include despatch of drugs from a bonded warehouse, free port or free zone to another country or territory, no matter what the status of such a shipment may be under national customs laws. Shipments of drugs between, on the one hand, an area of a country or territory which is subject to the customs levies of the country or territory and, on the other, a bonded warehouse, free port or free zone located in the same country or territory should, however, not be deemed to be imports and exports for the purpose of statistical reporting. 14

7. A consignment of drugs which passes through a country or territory in transit to another country or territory should not be considered to be an import and export of the country or territory of transit, even if pending its further shipment it is placed temporarily in a bonded warehouse, free port or free zone located therein. 15

8. Imported drugs returned by a country or territory to the exporting country or territory-whatever the reason for the return-should be considered to be exported by the former, and to be imported by the latter. 16

9. A shipment which, while in transit in a country or territory, is diverted to another destination in accordance with article 31, paragraph 12 should be considered to be an import to and export from the country or territory of transit which authorizes the diversion, and to be an import to the country or territory of the new destination. The Government of the entity which originally exported the consignment, and which is informed of the diversion under the terms of article 31, paragraph 12, must accordingly rectify the statistical computation of its exports, treating as importer the country or territory of transit which authorized the diversion.

10. In calculating the figures for the purpose of subparagraph (d), the pure drug content of the refined drugs, crude drugs and preparations involved should be taken into account. The Board prescribes, however, for opium preparations (including "medicinal opium") 17 extracts and tinctures of opium, coca leaf and cannabis and other coca leaf preparations, another method of computation which it describes in the form to be used for quarterly statistics of imports and exports. 18 International shipments of preparations in Schedule III must not be included in the reports furnished pursuant to the subparagraph under consideration. 19

11. Where the actual quantity of a drug in an ampoule is greater than its nominal content, the actual and not the nominal amount should be used in making the statistical calculations. 20

12. The Board requests that, in cases in which the reported figures on morphine or cocaine include quantities of the pure substance contained in the crude drugs, the weight of the crude drug and its pure drug content should also be given separately. 21

13. Isomers, esters and ethers are to be treated as drugs different from those whose chemical variations they are.

14. Concentrate of poppy straw which is imported or exported should always be considered to have been "made available in trade", 22 whether or not the purpose of its shipments is commercial. It must therefore always be reported separately from morphine. 23

15. All international consignments of poppy straw must be included in the figures compiled for the purpose of subparagraph (d), including those which are not intended for the manufacture of drugs.

16. The Board requests that the amounts of drugs imported for "special purposes" into a country or territory should be included in the total figure of import of each drug involved, 24 as well as stated separately in accordance with article 20, paragraph 4. See below, comments on article 20, paragraph 4.
 

1 Article 13, para. 1 and article 20, para. 1, introductory part.

2 Article 22, para. 2 of the 1925 Convention expressly required itself this specification; see however article 9, para. 1, subpara. (c) of the 1953 Protocol; see form A/S (5th edition, November 1969) of the Board, first column of parts I and 11 of the tables.

3 Article 21, paras. 1 to 3.

4Article 21, para. 4.

5 Article 20, para. 2, subpara. (b).

6 Article 13, para. 2, subpara. (c), clause (i) of the 1931 Convention. Drugs in Group 11 such as codeine correspond to those in Schedule 11 of the Single Convention.

7 See the form referred to in foot-note 2 above.

8 See form C/S (4th edition, November 1969).

9 Article 49, para. 3, subpara. (b).

10 Form R/S of the International Narcotics Control Board.

11 Form A/S, instruction 10.

12 Form A/S, instruction 11, first para.

13 Ibid., second para.; for the rules on import and export authorizations, see article 31, paras. 4 to 16; for use of the term "import certificate", see paragraph 5 of that article. No international shipments without such authorizations would be legal under the Single Convention or under the 1953 Protocol (art. 6, para. 4). They are, however, exceptionally authorized under the regime preceding the Single Convention; see art. 18, 1925 Convention.

14 Form A/S, instruction 11, third para.

15 Ibid., fourth para.

16 Ibid., fifth para.

17 Article 1, para. 1, subpara. (o).

18 Form A/S, instructions 3 and 4.

19 Ibid., instruction 5.

20 Ibid., instruction 9.

21 Ibid., foot-notes (d) and (f) to part I of the tables (pp. 4 and 5) and footnotes (d) and (f) to part II of the tables (pp. 7 and 8).

22 See the definition of the concentrate in Schedule I.

23 Form A/S, columns 6 of part I and II of the tables.

24 Form A/S, item II in the first column of part I of the tables.

Paragraph 1, subparagraph (e)

(e) Seizures of drugs and disposal thereof; and

Commentary

1. All seizures of drugs from the illicit traffic 1 must be taken into account for the purpose of calculating the figures under subparagraph (e),
and not merely those which are of importance under the terms of article 18, paragraph 1, subparagraph (c) and reported to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. 2 Domestic and international seizures, that is, both seizures which are effected in the interior of the country or territory concerned and also those which are made on account of illicit import or export, must be included. 3 The Board at present does not require separate figures on domestic and international seizures, 4 but is entitled to do so. 5 Since the leaves of the cannabis plant when not accompanied by the tops are not "cannabis" and therefore not "drugs", 6 statistical information on seizures of the leaves need not be furnished under subparagraph (e). The Commission on Narcotic Drugs could, however, request Parties to supply this information to the Secretary-General if it finds it necessary for the performance of its functions.

2. In view of article 2, paragraph 4, Governments should not include in the figures supplied pursuant to the subparagraph under consideration the amounts of drugs contained in preparations listed in Schedule III which they may seize.

3. As regards statistical information on the disposal of seized drugs, the Board asks Governments to indicate separately what quantities of the total amounts seized were destroyed, taken over by the Government for special purposes or utilized for licit purposes (consumption, manufacture, addition to stocks other than "special stocks", or export). The Board at present does not request separate information on the different amounts utilized for different licit purposes, nor even an indication of the specific licit purpose for which the seized drugs were appropriated. 3 The statistical figures on disposal of seized drugs should include drugs which were disposed of in the course of the year to which the statistics relate, whether they were seized in that year or in an earlier year. 9 Information on the quantities of seized drugs released for licit use is of particular importance to the Board since they must be deducted from the amounts which the country or territory may obtain by manufacture and import in the year in which they are so released. 10

1 See article 1, para. 1, subpara. (l) and comments thereon.

2 See above, comments on that provision.

3 Article 22, para. 1, subpara. (c) of the 1925 Convention limits the reporting to international seizures while article 9, para. 1, subpara. (a), clause (iv) of the 1953 Protocol requires statistical reporting on both domestic as well as international opium seizures.

4 Form C/S (4th edition, November 1969), table II, column E.

5 Article 13, para. 1 and article 20, para. 1, introductory part.

6 Article 1, para. 1, subpara. (b).

7Article 18, para. 1, introductory part and article 28, para. 3.

8 Form C/S, table II, heading of column F.

9 Form C/S, table II, foot-note (e) to the heading of table II (p. 9).

10 Article 21, paras. 1 and 2.

Paragraph 1, subparagraph (f)

(f) Stocks of drugs as at 31 December of the year to which the returns relate.

Commentary

1. In view of the definition of stocks in article 1, paragraph 1, subparagraph (x), the Board calls to the attention of Governments that "the term stocks means the amounts of drugs held in a country or territory for any purpose except: (i) the quantities held by retail pharmacists or other authorized retail distributors and by institutions or qualified persons in the duly authorized exercise of therapeutic or scientific functions... ;" and (ii) "special stocks" held by the Government.) The Board explains that these duly authorized institutions and persons include "doctors, dentists, veterinarians, hospitals, dispensaries and similar health institutions, both public and private; scientific institutes". 2

2. Under the definition of stocks in article 1, paragraph 1, subparagraph (x), drugs intended for consumption for other than medical or scientific purposes are not included in the stocks. The quantities of opium, coca leaves, cannabis, cannabis resin and extracts and tinctures of cannabis which are held in a country or territory for temporarily authorized nonmedical purposes, 3 except for the amounts held for such use by retail outlets or by the Government as "special stocks", must be separately reported to the Board. 4 The Board is, however, authorized 5 to request that these separate figures should also be included in the totals of stocks of each of these drugs to be furnished by Governments under article 20, paragraph 1, subparagraph (f).

3. Drugs held by retail outlets and "special stocks" (that is, drugs held by the Government "for special government purposes and to meet exceptional circumstances") 6 are excluded from the stocks to be reported in accordance with this subparagraph. The Board explains that the words "special Government purposes" include in particular the requirements for the armed forces, and the phrase "exceptional circumstances" is meant to cover such catastrophic events as large-scale epidemics and major earthquakes. 7 Drugs held by the Government for the normal needs of the civilian population should, however, be included in the figures to be reported; 8 so should drugs not held by the Government which are intended for sale to the Government "for special Government purposes and to meet exceptional circumstances".

4. Drugs held in a bonded warehouse, free port or free zone should be included in the stock statistics of the country or territory in which that warehouse, port or zone is located, but not if they are placed temporarily in such an institution in a country or territory through which they are passing in transit. 9

5. Since drugs held by retail outlets are not "stocks" in the sense of the Single Convention, small countries or territories which do not manufacture nor engage in the wholesale trade in drugs, but obtain all their narcotics requirements by imports of retail pharmacists, do not have "stocks", and consequently need not furnish stock statistics to the Board.

6. For a more extensive discussion of the term "stocks", see above, comments on article 1, paragraph 1, subparagraphs (w) and (x). 10

7. Refined and crude drugs, their salts and their preparations other than preparations in Schedule III11 must be taken into account in the calculation of the stock figures. As regards the computation of these figures in terms of the pure drug content, and by other methods in the case of opium preparations (including "medicinal opium"), extracts and tinctures of opium, extracts and tinctures and other preparations of coca leaf and extracts and tinctures of cannabis, see above, comments on article 20, paragraph 1, introductory part, and also on subparagraphs (c) and (d).12

8. For provisions of earlier treaties regarding stock statistics, see article 22, paragraph 1, subparagraph (c) of the 1925 Convention and article 9, paragraph 1, subparagraph (b) of the 1953 Protocol.
 

1 Form C/S (4th edition, November 1969) of the Board, foot-note (b) to table II (P. 9).

2 Form C/S, foot-note (a) to table II (p. 9); see also above, comments on article 20, para. 1, subpara. (c).

3 Article 49, para. 1, subparas. (a) to (d).

4Article 49, para. 3, subpara. (b); the Board requires at present that this separate figure be furnished on form R/S.

5 Article 13, para. 1, and article 20, para. 1, introductory part.

6 Article 1, para. 1, subpara. (w) and subpara. (x), clause (v).

7 Form C/S, foot-notes (c) and (d) to table II (p. 9); see also form A/S (5th edition, November 1969) of the Board, instruction 12.

8 Form C/S, foot-notes (b) and (d) to table 11 (p. 9).

9Form C/S, foot-note (b) to table II (p. 9); see also form A/S, instruction 11.

10 See also comments on article 19, para. 1, subpara. (c).

11 Article 2, para. 4.

12 Instructions 3 and 4 of forms C/S and A/S.

Paragraph 2

2. (a) The statistical returns in respect of the matters referred to in paragraph 1, except subparagraph (d), shall be prepared annually and shall be furnished to the Board not later than 30 June following the year to which they relate.
(b) The statistical returns in respect to the matters referred to in subparagraph (d) of paragraph 1 shall be prepared quarterly and shall be furnished to the Board within one month after the end of the quarter to which they relate.

Commentary

1. The statistical data other than those relating to the international trade must be furnished to the Board not later than 30 June following the year which they concern. This gives Governments more time than they had under the earlier treaties for furnishing their annual statistics. ) This change
was made because several representatives, particularly of large countries, stated at the Plenipotentiary Conference that their Governments could not collect the required information in time to furnish annual returns to the Board by the dates provided in the earlier treaties. 2 Early receipt of the annual statistics is, however, helpful to the Board in carrying out its functions under the Single Convention. Moreover, many Governments do not experience the same difficulties in gathering the information as those which at the Plenipotentiary Conference proposed an extension of the time limit for supplying the annual statistics. The Board therefore at present asks Governments to send their annual statistics "as soon as possible, but not later than 30 June, after the end of the year to which they relate. 3

2. The Board needs the import and export statistics at shorter than annual intervals. A discrepancy between import and corresponding export statistics may be due to a diversion of an international shipment into illicit channels. The Board sometimes asks Governments, when such discrepancies have arisen, to investigate whether a diversion has occurred. It is obvious that it is in the interest of effective investigation that as little time as possible should elapse between the diversion and the search by the enforcement authorities.

3. The receipt of quarterly import and export statistics also makes it possible for the Board to take corrective action in some cases in which a country or territory has exceeded its import limits. 4 The Board may be able to take this action in the year to which the limits apply, and thus to prevent an excessive import computed on an annual basis .5 Without quarterly statistics, and thus without the possibility of adopting early remedial steps, the Board could only comment post factum on the matter in its reports, 5 or finally resort to the procedure of article 14, which is generally not a very desirable way of coping with such a situation.

4. The Single Convention therefore retains the quarterly reporting of earlier treaties on the international trade in narcotic drugs. s It may perhaps also be concluded from the use of the words "shall be furnished" in both subparagraphs of paragraph 2 that the time limits for which they provide apply not to the despatch of the information, but to its arrival at the Board. The use of the passive form instead of the active form with reference to the Governments supplying the information makes it appear that the authors of the Single Convention had in mind the arrival of the information, rather than its despatch.

1 The 1925 Convention allows for stock statistics five months and for the other annual statistics three months after the end of the year to which they relate (article 22, para. 1, introductory part; see also article 23, first paragraph). The 1953 Protocol does the same, although in different words (article 9, para. 1, subparas. (a) and (b)).

2 Records, vol. 1, pp. 76-79.

3 Form C/S (4th edition, November 1969) of the Board, p. 3.

4 Article 21, para. 4.

5 Article 21, para. 1.

6 Article 15.

7 See above, comments on article 14; see also the general comments on article 20•

8 The 1925 Convention (article 22, para. 2) and the 1953 Protocol (article 9, para. 1, subpara. (c)) provided, however, for a period of "four weeks" after the end of the quarter, for the supply of the quarterly import and export statistics.

Paragraph 3

3. In addition to the matters referred to in paragraph 1 of this article the Parties may as far as possible also furnish to the Board for each of their territories information in respect of areas (in hectares) cultivated for the production of opium.

Commentary

1. The Third Draft 1 which the Plenipotentiary Conference used as its basic working document contained a provision 2 which would have required Parties to furnish to the Board information on the area on which they cultivated the opium poppy, coca bush or cannabis plant for the production of opium, coca leaves or cannabis and cannabis resin respectively. The Conference deleted this provision, but adopted the optional clause which appears as article 20, paragraph 3 of the Single Convention, as a concession to those delegates who believed that information on the area of poppy cultivation for opium was important for the Board's work. 3 The data which Governments may furnish under paragraph 3 enable the Board to compute the average opium yield per hectare. This yield, although by itself by no means conclusive, is one of the factors which may be taken into account in estimating the approximate extent of diversion of legally produced opium in to the illicit traffic. It may also help to determine, in the light of the average man-hours required for collecting the opium harvest from a hectare of land and of the prevailing local wages of farmhands, whether legal opium production is profitable, or whether it can be carried on only because the farmers sell a part of the crop at the higher prices of the illicit market. 4

2. The Parties have of course no obligation under paragraph 3 to furnish the information for which it provides. 5 Parties to the 1953 Protocol are, however, bound to do so. c Moreover, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs at present requests Governments not only to furnish statistical figures on the area of poppy cultivation for opium, but also on the area on which the coca bush is grown and on that on which the cannabis plant is cultivated for cannabis and cannabis resin.

3. The term "territories" as used in paragraph 3 not only covers territories in the sense of article 1, paragraph 1, subparagraph (y), i.e. parts of a State treated as separate entities for the application of the import certificate and export authorization system provided for in article 31, but also whole States not so divided. 8

1 Document E/CN.7/AC.3/9, reproduced in Records, vol. 11, pp. 2 et seq.

2 Article 27, para. 1, subpara. (a), Records, vol. 11, p. 10.

3 Records, vol. 1, pp. 76-79, 129-132 and 136-137; vol. 11, pp. 179-181 and 273; see also document E/CONF.34/L.22, Records, vol. 11, p. 41.

4 See also the above general comments on article 20.

5 The original text as proposed by India would have established an obligation, but the word "shall" of this text was replaced by "may" in the plenary meeting; see document E/CONF.34/L.22, Records, vol. 11, p. 41 and Records, vol. I, p. 137.

6 Article 9, para. 1, subpara. (a), clause (i) of the Protocol; the Board provides for this information in its form C/S (4th edition, November 1969) which the Board supplies not only for annual statistics under the Single Convention, but also under the 1925 and 1931 Conventions and under the 1948 and 1953 Protocols; see table I, column A of this form, p. 5.

7 Form E/NR.FORM/Rev.2 (21 March 1966) which the Commission has prepared for the annual reports on the working of the Single Convention and of other narcotics treaties; see chapter IX, questions 19 (b), 24 (b), and 28 (b), pp. 10, 12 and 13 of this form.

8 See above, comments on article 1, para. 1, subpara. (y).

Paragraph 4

4. The Parties are not required to furnish statistical returns respecting special stocks, but shall furnish separately returns respecting drugs imported into or procured within the country or territory for special purposes, as well as quantities of drugs withdrawn from special stocks to meet the requirements of the civilian population.

Commentary

1. All drugs destined for uses other than "special purposes", and all their movements at the different stages of the drug economy, are subject to the statistical accounting system of the Single Convention, while drugs held in special stocks and their use for "special purposes" are not. The latter are not subject to the control of the Board, nor to its inquiries or criticism. 1 Article 20, paragraph 4, requiring Governments to report to the Board the quantities of drugs moving from and to the uncontrolled sphere, is intended to prevent gaps in the statistical control system or the appearance of figures which cannot be accounted for.

2. Three different kinds of figures must be furnished to the Board under this paragraph:
(a) The quantities of drugs imported for "special purposes";
(b) The quantities procured from domestic sources for "special purposes";
and
(c) The quantities withdrawn from "special stocks to meet the requirements of the civilian population".

3. The term for "special purposes" in the phrase "drugs imported. . . or procured ... for special purposes" means for the purpose of being held by the Government "for special Government purposes and to meet exceptional circumstances", i.e. for the purpose of being held in "special stocks", or of passing through "special stocks" in order to be used "for special Government purposes and to meet exceptional circumstances".

4. It will be recalled that the term "special stocks" is defined in article 1, paragraph 1, subparagraph (w) to mean "the amounts of drugs held ... by the Government for special Government purposes and to meet exceptional circum stances". It may also be repeated here that in the Board's view the phrase "for special Government purposes" includes, in particular, the use of the armed forces, and the phrase "exceptional circumstances" covers such catastrophic events as large-scale epidemics and major earthquakes. 2

5. The term "special purposes" also does not cover the purpose of being held by the Government for the normal needs of the civilian population.

6. It has been suggested above that a Government which purchases currently from dealers the drugs which it needs for its armed forces and for use in the case of natural disasters or epidemics, without maintaining anything of the nature of a standing stock, does not have "special stocks". If such a Government effects such a current purchase by an import, this transaction is not to be considered to have been undertaken for "special purposes". 3 Paragraph 4 does not state at what intervals the statistical information on imports for "special purposes" should be supplied. It may, however, be assumed that this must be done quarterly in accordance with the terms of article 20, paragraph 2, subparagraph (b), and the Board actually so requires. 4 Since the exporting country must include in its quarterly reports all its shipments abroad, including those for "special purposes" of importing Governments, failure to report imports under paragraph 4 at the same intervals would unfavourably affect the capacity of the Board to use the international trade statistics for the performance of its functions, in particular that of supervising the observance by all countries or territories of their import limits, that of enforcing these limits by the imposition of an embargo in appropriate cases and, in the case of a suspected diversion of an international consignment into illicit channels, to ask the Governments concerned to initiate the required investigations. 5

7. The Board requests that the figures on imports to be furnished under paragraph 4 should not only be stated separately, but should also be included in the total import figures to be reported pursuant to article 20, paragraph 1, subparagraph (d) in respect of the drugs involved. 6

8. The figures on drugs procured from domestic sources for "special purposes" mentioned under (b) in paragraph 2 above, should be furnished to the Board annually in accordance with article 20, paragraph 2, subpara graph (a), that is, not later than 30 June following the year to which they relate; and this is in fact what the Board requires. 7 This requirement is not expressly stated in the Single Convention, but it was undoubtedly intended by the authors of the treaty and it is necessary to enable the Board to determine whether the country or territory has observed its manufacturing and import limits, as the Board is required to do under the terms of the Single Convention. s It may also be pointed out that drugs which are bought from domestic sources for the needs of the armed forces and for use in the case of natural disasters and epidemics, by a Government which does not maintain standing stocks of drugs but acquires its medical supplies currently from dealers, should not be considered to have been procured for "special purposes", and should therefore not be included in the information to be supplied under paragraph 4. The same applies to drugs procured by a Government for the normal needs of the civilian population. 3

9. In the case of a socialist drug economy, quantities of drugs transferred from stocks held for general purposes to stocks held "for special Government purposes and to meet exceptional circumstances" should, however, be considered to have been procured from domestic sources for "special purposes", and should therefore be included in the figures to be supplied to the Board under paragraph 4.

10. What has been said above in paragraph 8 in regard to the timing of the supply of statistical information to the Board applies also to the reporting on the quantities of drugs withdrawn from stocks to meet the requirements of the civilian population. 7 The question arises whether drugs taken from "special stocks" to be used by the civilian population in such exceptional circumstances as earthquakes or epidemics should be taken into account in computing the figures on withdrawals from special stocks pursuant to paragraph 4. It is submitted that this should not be done if the distribution to the civilian consumers is directly carried out by government officials administering the "special stocks", in particular by the armed services themselves. If, however, the distribution is entrusted to retail outlets which normally supply civilian consumers, the withdrawals from special stocks should be reported under paragraph 4, but should also be taken into account in computing the consumption statistics to be furnished under article 20, paragraph 1, subparagraph (c). This appears to follow from the definition of the words "consumed" and "consumption" in article 1, paragraph 2.

11. Drugs taken from special stocks to be exported directly should be reported as withdrawals from special stocks to meet the requirements of the civilian population even if-though this may often not be the case-the exporting Government has information that the drugs are intended for "special purposes" of the importing country or territory. Drugs exported for special purposes of the importing country or territory must also be taken into account in computing the export figures under article 20, paragraph 1, subparagraph (d). The Single Convention does not require separate figures on exports destined for special purposes. 9

12. In the case of the drug economy in a socialist country, drugs transferred from stocks held by the Government for special purposes to stocks destined for general purposes should be reported as withdrawals from special stocks.

13. For corresponding provisions of earlier treaties, see article 22, paragraph 3 of the 1925 Convention and article 9, paragraph 1, subparagraph (b) of the 1953 Protocol.

1 Article 12, para. 4 and article 13, para. 4.

2 See above, comments on article 1, para. 1, subparas. (w) and (x), article 12, para. 4, article 13, para. 4, article 19, para. 1, subpara. (d) and article 20, para. 1, subpara. (f); see also form C/S (4th edition, November 1969) of the Board, footnotes (b), (c) and (d) to table II (p. 9) and form A/S (5th edition, November 1969), instruction 12.

3 See above, comments on article 19, para. 1, subpara. (d); see also League of Nations, document C.521.M.362.1937.XI, pp. 7 and 18.

4Form A/S, part I of the tables, first column, line II, pp. 4-6.

5 See above, comments on article 20, para. 2, subpara. (b); see article 21, para. 4.

6 See the reference in foot-note 4 above; see also comments on article 20, para. 1, subpara. (d).

7 Form C/S, table II, column D.

8 Article 21, paras. 1 to 3, article 13, para. 2, and article 15, para. 1; see also article 14.
9 Form A/S, part 11 of the tables, first column, pp. 7-9.