Those Who Argue We Should Decriminalise the Trade in Narcotics Are Blind to the Catastrophic Consequences The debate between those who dream of a world free of drugs and those who hope for a world of free drugs has been raging for years. I believe the dispute between prohibition and legalisation would be more fruitful if it focused on the appropriate degree of regulation for addictive substances (drugs, but also alcohol and tobacco) and how to attain such regulation. Current international agreements are hard to change. All nations, with no exception, agree that illicit drugs are a threat to health and that their production, trade and use should be regulated. In fact, adherence to the UN's drug conventions is virtually universal and no statutory changes are possible unless the majority of states agree - quite unlikely, in the foreseeable future. Yet important improvements to today's system are needed and achievable, especially in areas where current controls have produced serious collateral damage. [continues 970 words]
Around the world, in order to enhance performance, people are popping pills and powder known as amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS). From ravers at all-night discos to assembly-line workers or long-haul truckers, more than 30 million people use amphetamine, methamphetamine (meth), or Ecstasy at least once a year - more than the combined number of those who take cocaine and heroin. The global market is estimated at $65 billion. Part of the attraction of these synthetic drugs is that they are readily available, affordable and convenient to use (no need to shoot up, snort, or smoke). Amphetamines speed up the way the body works: users experience increased confidence, sociability and energy. But what goes up must come down. People who become dependent on "uppers" may suffer paranoia, kidney failure and internal bleeding, and even serious mental health problems, brain damage, or heart attack. [continues 407 words]
West Africa is under attack. The region has become a hub for cocaine smuggling from Latin America to Europe. States that we seldom hear about, such as Guinea-Bissau and neighbouring Guinea, are at risk of being captured by drug cartels in collusion with corrupt forces in government and the military. With the exception of cannabis in Morocco, Africa never used to have a drug problem. That has changed, however, in the past five years. Around 50 tons of cocaine are being shipped from the Andean countries to Europe via West Africa every year, and that is a conservative estimate. Actual amounts could be at least five times higher. [continues 722 words]
The UN's Drugs Tsar Denounces Celebrities Such As Amy Winehouse for Adding to the Misery of Already Vulnerable Countries We like to think that the modern world is more compassionate and humane than in the past. The values of our age mean that moral abominations such as slave trading, mass racial prejudice or cruelty to animals are no longer tolerated. In this progressive climate, there is mounting opposition to the absolute poverty and exploitation of child labour that, tragically, still prevail in large parts of Africa. Within Europe in recent years, a few influential pop stars and other fashion-conscious celebrities have been at the forefront of efforts to improve living standards in Africa. Bob Geldof's Live Aid concerts and Bono's Drop the Debt campaign have been vital in raising political awareness and money to tackle the continent's economic crisis. Stopping the trade in blood diamonds and promoting fair trade with Africa have been two other favoured causes of the celebrity elite. [continues 1035 words]
An unfamiliar country keeps popping up in press reports about drug trafficking: Guinea Bissau. This West African state of 1.5 million people is one of the poorest in the world. Its chief exports? Cashews, shrimp, and cocaine. Cocaine, in a country with no coca bush? That's right. More than four tons of cocaine have been seized in West Africa this year, a 35 percent increase over the haul for 2006. Drugs are also being seized in international waters off the Gulf of Guinea. [continues 623 words]
VIENNA - The latest news from Afghanistan is not what any of us wanted to hear right now. The winter opium survey recently completed by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime suggests this year's harvest will be even higher than the record 6,100 tonnes that we reported last year. That means another windfall for criminals and terrorists, continued corruption and more heroin on global markets, spreading drug addiction and HIV. Canada's announcement earlier this year of a generous aid package for Afghanistan -- $200-million for reconstruction and development -- was therefore particularly welcome. The package includes up to $27-million for fighting drugs and crime. This money is badly needed. [continues 747 words]
Something strange is going on in the global opium market, and it could spell trouble. Opium is a commodity -- an illegal commodity, but it should still be subject to the normal rules of supply and demand. Annual demand for opium is approximately 4,500 tons. Last year a record 6,100 tons were produced in Afghanistan alone. That country's production is 30 percent more than total world demand. Heroin prices should, in theory, be plummeting. But they are not. So what is going on? [continues 716 words]
The Debate Over the Drug Is No Longer About Liberty. It's About Health Seldom does a leading newspaper take a high-profile stand in favour of drug liberalisation. It is less common still for such a campaign to be publicly retracted. The Independent on Sunday deserves great credit for having the courage to change its mind on cannabis on the basis of mounting evidence of just how dangerous the world's most popular illicit drug has become. It cannot have been an easy decision. Many readers undoubtedly subscribe to the vague, laissez-faire tolerance of cannabis increasingly prevalent among educated people in Western countries. That growing consensus needs to be challenged. [continues 741 words]
How can we urge Colombia and Peru to reduce supply when Europe's own drug habit is driving cultivation? European leaders need to get serious about Europe's cocaine problem. The "white lady" is seducing a steadily growing number of Europeans, and remaining in a state of denial will only worsen the consequences. Cocaine used to be America's problem, to the point that the United States started a major campaign against sellers and consumers of crack cocaine in the inner cities, drug traffickers, and suppliers in the Andes. But now demand for cocaine in most of the world is stable or dropping. Coca cultivation has been slashed by a quarter in the past five years, and seizures of cocaine have almost doubled. An impressive 42% of all of the world's cocaine was seized in 2005. [continues 717 words]
Farmers will be weaned off opium over the long term only if they have sustainable livelihoods. At the moment, Afghanistan's drug lords are prospering, and rural communities are suffering. That situation needs to be reversed. We must punish the traffickers and reward the farmers When NATO leaders meet for their summit in Riga at the end of this month, there will be a ghost at the feast: Afghanistan's opium. Afghanistan is in danger of falling back into the hands of terrorists, insurgents, and criminals, and the multi-billion-dollar opium trade is at the heart of the country's malaise. Indeed, NATO's top general, James Jones, has called drugs the 'Achilles heel' of Afghanistan. [continues 818 words]
Today's Marijuana Isn't The Stuff Baby Boomers Toked, Says the UN's Antonio Maria Costa. Pot's Characteristics Now Aren't That Different From Other Plant-Based Drugs -- Like Cocaine and Heroin VIENNA -- Supporters of the legalization of cannabis would have us believe that it is a gentle, harmless substance that gives you little more than a sense of mellow euphoria. Sellers of the world's most popular illicit drug know better. Trawl through websites offering cannabis seeds for sale and you will find brand names such as Armageddon, AK-47 and White Widow. "This will put you in pieces, then reduce you to rubble -- maybe quicksand if you go too far," one seller boasts. This is much closer to the truth. [continues 601 words]
VIENNA Colombia's vice president, Francisco Santos Calderon, warned European countries recently that they ignore an increase in cocaine consumption across the Continent at their peril. When looking at the relaxed approach to drug control pursued by some European governments, I am tempted to go even further and conclude that societies have the drug problem they deserve. That rise in cocaine use will no doubt be a topic of discussion as international experts in drug control meet at Wilton Park in England this weekend to consider this question: Is international drug policy working? My answer to that question will be "Yes, but ..." [continues 636 words]
