US COULD LEARN FROM HK EFFORTS TO CURTAIL NARCOTICS

Hong Kong may be taken off the "hit list", compiled by the United States,
of pariah territories perceived to be lax in prosecuting the international
war on the drugs trade.

We've been given a clean bill of health. That's nice.

It is also a nice bit of effrontery on behalf of the country which is the
world's leading consumer and importer of cocaine, heroin and other
narcotics. If any nation deserves to be on an international list of censure
for creating a demand for illegal drugs, it is the US.

Without the gigantic and incessant demand for narcotics, there would be
little economic pressure to grow opium and cocaine in Afghanistan and
Bolivia. Cut out the vast profits involved, and there would not be the
temptation to risk smuggling the finished product into America. It is the
enormous and lucrative American demand for illicit drugs that largely fuels
the global drug trade.

So when the US national drug policy chief, Barry McCaffrey, passed through
Hong Kong recently and made some flattering remarks about our anti-drug
efforts, he may have been slightly surprised when people did not leap in
the air shouting in gratitude.

The fact is that Hong Kong has for decades taken a more effective stand
against drug use and trafficking than the US.

Mr McCaffrey was here on a brief, flying visit. What he saw convinced him
we should be removed from this American-inspired list of infamy. To make
sure this happens, Hong Kong narcotics fighters will head for Washington
next week to drive home the message. Headed by Commissioner for Narcotics,
Clarie Lo Ku Ka-lee and including police, customs and Department of Justice
officials, the delegation will be armed with compelling evidence to remove
the stigma which it seems was so casually branded on our communal hide.

The simple truth, of course, is that the US and much of the rest of the
world could learn an awful lot from the approach we have developed - our
Action Committee Against Narcotics was formed 35 years ago.

In the 1980s, Hong Kong was a transshipment centre for drugs. During the
same era, many drug deals were financed in Hong Kong. In that era, we
deserved to be listed as a transgressor. Those days are past. Today, there
are 16,198 names on the Central Registry of Drug Abusers, which has been
constantly updated since 1976. The number has been more or less constant
for a decade.

Mr McCaffrey saw this and was impressed. He was also impressed by the 690
police officers and 280 customs men detailed solely to investigate drug
flow and use, and by the research, education and rehabilitation programmes
of the Commission for Narcotics and a dozen other government agencies and
bureaus.

So he should have been impressed. Our anti-narcotics programmes are a model
for the world. It seems to me a pity that Mr McCaffrey had to make his
remarks. The US Federal Government works closely with our drug fighters. He
should have known how effectively and with what determination we confront
the challenge.

Hopefully, he will now promptly take our name off the list of shame and
turn his attention to worries closer to home.

An area where Washington could learn from Hong Kong is researching why
people take narcotics and compiling meaningful data tracking use and
punishment.

This year, US federal authorities will spend US$17.7 billion (about HK$138
billion) on drug control. How much money do American addicts spend on
narcotics? Nobody seems to have any meaningful figures.

But there is no doubt that it is this gigantic flow of cash that powers
much global production and trafficking.

Note: Kevin Sinclair ( kevsin@pacific.net.hk ) is a Hong Kong-based journalist.