Medicine, Science, and the Interpretation of International Drug Control Conventions: Could It Be that the Emperor Has No Clothes?/Medicina, ciencia e interpretación de las convenciones internacionales de drogas: ¿Será que el emperador está desnudo?/Medicina, ciencia e interpretacao das convencoes internacionais de drogas: sera que o empregador esta nu?

The conventions of the UN international drug control system limit the uses of controlled substances to medical and scientific purposes, but do not define the meaning of this expression means. This situation generates a legal gap or lacunae that makes it impossible to determine whether a policy complies with the international conventions. These conventions were written without considering the modern criteria for the interpretation of treaties and the etiologies of production, trafficking and consumption of psychoactive drugs. The article explores the consequences of this failure and suggests ways of debating international drug policies, showing the possibility of flexible interpretations without modifying the conventions of the international drug control system.