POPPY CULTIVATION DOWN IN '05 -- UN

WASHINGTON - Opium poppy cultivation was down 22 per cent worldwide in
2005, according to a study that the United Nations released Monday,
part of a mixed report card on global efforts to combat drug
trafficking.

Coupled with a stabilization of global markets for cocaine and
amphetamines, the 2006 World Drug Report says, "drug control is
working and the world drug problem is being contained."

Not all the news was good, however. The report also warns that cocaine
consumption in western Europe is reaching "alarming levels" and says
global consumption of cannabis, the world's most popular drug,
continues to increase.

In addition, officials warn that there could be an upswing in opium
cultivation in Afghanistan, which is responsible for 89 per cent of
world opium production. Because of continued political turmoil,
poverty and violence, Afghanistan's "drug situation remains vulnerable
to reversal," the report says. "This could happen as early as 2006."

Opium poppy cultivation decreased in Afghanistan for the first time
since 2001, when U.S. forces removed the Taliban from power.