| The
Central Principle of "balance" represents a dual imperative
of governments to establish a system of control to prevent abuse,
trafficking, and diversion of narcotic drugs while, at the same
time, ensuring their medical availability. While opioid analgesics
are controlled drugs, they are also essential drugs and are absolutely
necessary for the relief of pain. Opioids, including those in the
therapeutic group of morphine, should be accessible to all patients
who need them for relief of pain. Governments must take steps to
ensure the adequate availability of opioids for medical and scientific
purposes. These steps include empowering medical practitioners to
provide opioids in the course of professional practice, allowing
them to prescribe, dispense and administer according to the individual
medical needs of patients, and ensuring that a sufficient supply
of opioids is available
to meet medical demand
When misused,
opioids pose a threat to society; a system of control is necessary
to prevent abuse, trafficking, and diversion, but the system of
control is not intended to diminish the medical usefulness of opioids,
nor interfere in their legitimate medical uses and patient care.
Indeed, governments have been asked to identify and remove impediments
to the availability and medical use of opioid analgesics. |
.png){kind=small}