THE FUTILE BATTLE TO DEFEAT SUPPLY

One of the stranger moments of yesterday's United Nations drug summit came
as it ended with the adoption of an ambitious plan to slash the supply and
demand of illegal drugs.

``Fraternal greetings from all growers of coca, poppy and marijuana in
Colombia, '' declared Mrs Omayra Morales, a member of the Andean council of
coca leaf producers, outside the general assembly. Inside presidents, prime
ministers and other dignitaries spoke of the need for urgent action.

Mrs Morales portrayed the war against drugs as an exercise in futility. She
said that four years ago the Colombian Government said it would end coca
cultivation within two years. Coca was then being grown on 40,000 hectares.
Today's figure was 101,000 hectares.

Mrs Morales said fumigation of coca fields had only forced growers deeper
into the Amazon. ``There have been many protests and demonstrations,'' she
said. ``In response, there has been a military offensive against leaders of
the protests.''

Mrs Morales provided a human reminder that the war against drugs is not
going well.

Since 1961, UN drug control strategies have put eradication of illegal
opium at centre stage. Yet, according to the Lindesmith Centre, an
institute backed by the financier Mr George Soros, opium production is
rising sharply.

Coca cultivation has doubled since 1985, according to UN figures, and drug
prices are falling.

Some UN officials have criticised efforts to stamp out drug supply.

``Such policies have had no effect on supply, and crop substitution does
not work without the development of markets and infrastructure like
transportation,'' said one.

A European diplomat was more scathing: ``What a farce, I've never heard
such platitudes.''

But others pointed to the value of discussing key issues such as money
laundering.

Although the summit ended with the adoption of an ambitious plan to cut
supply and demand, it remains to be seen whether countries will come up
with the hard cash to fund the proposal. It was advanced by Mr Pino
Arlacchi, head of the UN International Drug Control Program, who puts the
cost of the plan between $A6.5 billion and $A7.8 billion during the next 10
years.

Checked-by: (Joel W. Johnson)