At the end of April 2022, a regular meeting of Expert Council on Legal Drug Trafficking was held at the federal state budgetary institution National Medical Research Center for Psychiatry and Narcology named after V.P. Serbian of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.
Along with the permanent members of the Expert Council, the event was attended by representatives of the UN INCB, a number of federal executive bodies of the Russian Federation (Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russian Ministry of Health, Roszdravnadzor, Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs).
The discussion of the results of the 65th session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs held in Vienna, Austria on March 14-18, 2022 was one of the key topics on the agenda of the Meeting. Mr. Dmitry Subbotin, Deputy Director of the Department for New Challenges and Threats of the Russian Foreign Ministry made a report devoted to its results and brought up problematic issues for discussion.
In recent years, there has been an increase in the interest for the topic of the increase of the availability of narcotic and psychotropic drugs for use in medical and scientific purposes at specialized international platforms. A significant role in this process was played by the COVID-19 pandemic which highlighted the difficulties with the supply of drug containing medicinal products to patients in conditions of closed borders and forced self-isolation. Despite the restrictions caused by the sanitary-epidemiological and political situation, the citizens who need medicinal products used for medical reasons should receive the timely, affordable and effective pain relief which is a strategic task for the Russian Federation and the international community.
The representatives of the federal executive authorities, scientists and practitioners in the field of medicine and pharmacy agreed on the need for the members of the Expert Council as representatives of an independent public organization to participate in international events including the open part of the WHO Committee on Drug Dependence and sessions of the UN Commission on drugs. This initiative will enhance the role of the Russian Federation in international activities for the regulation of the circulation of drug containing medicinal products and psychotropic substances, and will also promote joint solutions developed by the domestic experts in the designated area.
“The attitude of the world community towards the use of cannabis-based medicinal products for medical purposes” was another topical issue discussed at the meeting of experts. Ms Galina Korchagina, First Vice-President of the UN INCB, Deputy Director of the National Scientific Center for Narcology – a branch of Federal State Budgetary Institution “V. Serbsky Federal Medical Research Center of Psychiatry and Narcology” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation and Mr. Konstantin Vyshinsky, Leading Researcher of the Center presented a detailed analysis of this topic based on statistical information from foreign countries.
In order to develop a domestic expert opinion on the advisability of the medical use of the medicinal products containing natural or synthetic cannabinoids, it was decided to study the issue of organizing preclinical studies of this group of medicinal products in various pharmacotherapeutic groups in the Russian Federation as compared to the used medicinal products and provide their results to the medical community.
Following the meeting, the Expert Council suggested that the federal executive authorities of the Russian Federation make greater use of the potential of the consultative and advisory body in solving problematic issues, as well as send an up-to-date information thereto in the field of legal circulation of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
Mr. Mikhail Fonarev, in his closing remarks, stressed the importance of a joint work which will help increase the efficiency of the activities of the concerned ministries and departments, as well as legal entities engaged in legal drug trafficking.
Comment type is not specified in the component properties.