The United Nations General Assembly concluded a special session on
the world drug problem Wednesday with the 150 participating nations
promising to work to reduce their appetites for illegal drugs within
the next five years.

The effect was to equate reduction of demand with reduction of supply
as an "indispensable pillar" in combating the spread of illegal drugs.
Until recently, the United States and many other consumer countries had
focused on intercepting drugs from producing countries.

On recommendation of the U.N. International Drug Control Program,the
delegates endorsed an ambitious proposal to phase out cultivation of
opium and coca leaf in ten years.

They also agreed to do more to expose money laundering, to tighten up
on chemicals used to process illegal drugs and to cooperate on
extraditing traffickers.