Lithuanian delegation takes part in the 66th CND Session
On 13-17 March 2023, a delegation of Drug, Tobacco and Alcohol Control Department took part in the 66th Session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) held in Vienna, Austria. The CND meets every year to discuss the global state of drug control and to adopt resolutions to guide the way forward.
In parallel to the Session, a side-event titled ‘Specific substances: balancing between health and industry’ was organized by Drug, Tobacco and Alcohol Control Department, in cooperation with the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, the Trimbos Institute of the Netherlands and French Inter-ministerial Mission for Combating Drugs and Addictive Behaviours (MILDECA). It was focused on specific substances, which are usually used for industrial purposes but are also abused as drugs taken for recreational purposes, for example, nitrous oxide (‘laughing gas’), GBL, and alkyl nitrites (‘poppers’), which currently represent a growing public health issue. Shaping and implementation of laws and policies to place such substances under balanced control is needed to limit their diffusion, the eventual health threat for users, their non-negligible abuse liability as well as the dependence risk. The goal of this side event was to examine the current situation in different countries, risks and responses to recreational use of such substances.
Gražina Belian, Deputy Director of Drug, Tobacco and Alcohol Control Department, presented the situation and experience of Lithuania in this field. ‘The use of specific substances is a pressing global issue. This is why the side event initiated and organized by Lithuania received a great deal of attention both from European region and other countries of the world,’ said Gražina Belian.
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