The World Drug Report 2009, launched today by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), shows that global markets for cocaine, opiates and cannabis are steady or in decline, while production and use of synthetic drugs is feared to be increasing in the developing world.
HIGHLIGHTS of the Report
-Opium cultivation in Afghanistan, where 93 per cent of the world's opium is grown, declined by 19 per cent in 2008.
-Worldwide: consumption for all drugs (as of June 2009) is OVERALL flat or down
The Report pays special attention to the impact of drug-related crime, and what to do about it.
In the Preface to the report, Mr. Costa explores the debate over repealing drug controls. He acknowledges that controls have generated an illicit black market of macro-economic proportions that uses violence and corruption. Yet, he warns that legalizing drugs as a way of removing this threat - as some have suggested - would be "an historic mistake." "Illicit drugs pose a danger to health. That's why drugs are, and must remain, controlled," said the head of UNODC.
"Proponents of legalization can't have it both ways," said Mr. Costa. "A free market for drugs would unleash a drug epidemic, while a regulated one would create a parallel criminal market. Legalization is not a magic wand that would suppress both mafias and drug abuse," said Mr. Costa. "Societies should not have to choose between protecting public health or public security: they can, and should do both," he said. He therefore called for more resources for drug prevention and treatment, and stronger measures to fight drug-related crime.
The Director of the US Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske, said: "The World Drug Report 2009 demonstrates that drugs are a problem that touches every nation. All of us have a responsibility to address drug abuse within our societies."
SOURCES:
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/index.html
ALEXANDRA CHUNN
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