Pubdate: Sat, 20 Jun 1998
Source: Lancet, The (UK)
Contact:  http://www.thelancet.com/
Author: Michael McCarthy

UN ADOPTS PLANS TO COMBAT WORLDWIDE ILLICIT DRUG USE BY

The UN General Assembly has called for all its member states to join an
international campaign to combat illegal drug use. In a series of documents
adopted at the end of the "drug summit" held in New York (June 8-10), the
Assembly called for the states to attack not only the production and
trafficking of illicit drugs but also to work to reduce the demand for these
drugs.

By 2003, member states are to have established or enhanced drug-reduction
programmes; strengthened legislation to combat illicit manufacture,
trafficking, and abuse of synthetic drugs; taken steps to halt the
laundering of illegal drug profits; and improved cooperation between
judicial and law enforcement authorities so that they can effectively deal
with the international criminal organisations involved in the drug trade.

By 2008, member states are to have eliminated or significantly reduced the
manufacture and marketing of illicit drugs; achieved significant reduction
in demand; and eradicated or significantly reduced cultivation of coca
bushes, cannabis plants, and opium poppies. To help achieve this last goal,
the UN agencies and international financial institutions are to support
development in rural regions now economically dependent on the cultivation
of these crops.

Despite repeated calls for international cooperation during the summit,
there remains bad feeling between those nations in which drugs are produced
or through which drugs are trafficked and those where many users live.
President Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico noted that "an overwhelming proportion
of the world demand [for drugs] comes from countries with the highest
economic capacity. However, the highest human, social, and institutional
costs involved in meeting such demand are paid by the producing and transit
countries". Zedillo urged that antidrug efforts "address all phases of the
drug cycle".

In his address, President Clinton lamented that "the debate between
drug-supplying and drug-consuming nations, about whose responsibility the
drug problem is, has gone on too long". This debate was "distracting" and
"has not advanced the fight against drugs", he said. "Drugs are every
nation's problem, and every nation must act to fight them."

The USA has made great progress in reducing demand for illicit drugs, said
Clinton. "Today, Americans spend 37% less on drugs than a decade ago." The
USA aims to cut drug use and access by half over the next 10 years. To
further that effort, Clinton said he was proposing a US$2-billion, 5-year
media campaign to keep young Americans off drugs.

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Checked-by: "Rolf Ernst"