The National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada) has urged the global community to intensify efforts in combating the global drug issue.
This is even as the authority called on countries to ensure strategies aimed at combating drug and substance use are people-oriented.
Nacada board chairperson Stephen Mairori on Friday said demand reduction strategies should cover all important areas.
These include prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and availability of controlled substances for medical and scientific purposes.
Mairori was speaking during the 67th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs taking place in Vienna, Austria.
According to Nacada, the emergence of new psychoactive substances, synthetic drugs, and the increasing trend towards non-medical usage of narcotic and psychotropic substances have exacerbated the complexity of the drug issue.
"The potency of the emergent substances presents serious security and health issues - a situation if left unaddressed has the potential to reverse all hard-earned social-economic and political gains," Mairori said.
In his speech on behalf of Kenya, Mairori reaffirmed the commitment of the country to adhere to international principles on drugs.
"I affirm Kenya’s commitment to uphold the principles enshrined in the international drug conventions and stand opposed to all forms of non-conformity including legalization of controlled substances for recreational use," Mairori said.
The chairman of the board emphasized the importance of achieving a balance between supply and demand reduction efforts at the national level, highlighting their mutually reinforcing nature.
He also stressed the need for supply reduction interventions to be dynamic, flexible, and innovative in order to effectively address evolving trends in the production, sale, and trafficking of narcotic and psychotropic substances.
"Under the leadership of His Excellency President William Ruto, Kenya has adopted a two-pronged approach that provides sufficient focus on both demand and supply reduction," Mairori said.
"This response is guided by our national policies and legislations that are aligned to the three international conventions on drug control and adopted policy documents," he added.
The 67th Session brings together participants from Member States, UN entities, inter-governmental organizations, civil society, and the scientific community in Vienna and online.
The session consists of two segments; a high-level segment on March 14 and 15 and a regular segment from March 18 to 22.
Resolutions under consideration by the Commission during the regular segment include promoting rehabilitation and recovery management programmes (aftercare) as part of comprehensive drug abuse treatment.
Improving the access to and availability of controlled substances for medical purposes, including for the treatment of children in pain, through the promotion of awareness raising, training, and data collection is another issue.