Inadequate information on drugs

Inadequate information concerning drugs and their effects, and on illicit use and traffic, hampers both the public and the medical profession. The inadequacy of general information on drugs is due to: inadequate research; the unwillingness of doctors to divulge information to their patients; the unwillingness, ignorance or irresponsibility on the part of some manufacturers to fully describe the harmful as well as the beneficial properties of their products. The inadequacy of information on illicit drug use is due to: unrecorded drug abuse; confidentiality or other complication in autopsy; lack of inventories on illicit drug stocks; the efficiency of organized crime or official corruption.