AMPHETAMINE USE INCREASING WORLDWIDE

Cocaine and heroin abuse is diminishing worldwide but consumption of
amphetamines is growing, the United Nations said in a report released Monday.

The report, published by the U.N. Office for Drug Control and Crime
Prevention, said the increase in amphetamine usage in the 1990s was mainly
in Europe and in Asia, with developed countries the main suppliers.

In the United States, drug use fell 40 percent from 1985 to 1999, with
cocaine use falling 70 percent. Officials with the drug agency said that
much of the reduction was a result of increased government spending on
prevention and treatment.