WHO guideline on balanced national controlled medicines policies to ensure medical access and safety: rapid communication

Overview

WHO recommends that essential medicines, including those that are controlled, be available to all patients at all times at a price that the individual and the community can afford. In line with their obligations under the United Nation’s drug treaties, governments and health systems must ensure that people who need controlled medicines for medical and scientific purposes can access them and also ensure that these medicines are used safely and appropriately. Policies should seek to maximize access to essential and beneficial controlled medicines for all people who need them, while effectively restricting non-medical use, which poses serious risks to safety and has harmful consequences for individuals and societies. This guideline provides evidence-informed recommendations on pharmaceuticals with an identified or emergent clinical application the active principles of which are listed in international drug control conventions and the manufacture, possession and use of which are regulated by national law.