Breaking the Cycle of Preventable Suffering: Fulfilling the Principle of Balance
36 Pages Posted: 26 Feb 2012
Date Written: October 25, 2010
Abstract
Therapeutic opioids are essential for anesthesia and palliative care and have proven highly effective in reducing the harms associated with use of illicit drugs. Yet, access to therapeutic opioids remains strikingly inadequate in much of the world, resulting in preventable suffering on a vast scale. Many of the impediments to access are found in overly restrictive law, policy and regulation at the national level. Although countries are required by international conventions to place certain controls on opioids, many national regulatory regimes far exceed the requirements of international law. This paper supports that model by illustrating the considerable latitude that countries have to adopt national laws that fulfill the requirements of international drug law.
Keywords: opioids, pain, palliative care, drug policy
JEL Classification: K32, I18
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation