CANADA MAJOR SOURCE OF 'PARTY DRUGS,' UN SAYS

Report Cites Nation As Major Producer Of Meth And Ecstasy

Canada has become a major producer of illegal "party" drugs, a United
Nations report released Wednesday says.

Asian and "traditional" outlaw motorcycle gangs stepped up their
production of methamphetamine -- a very addictive stimulant drug that
affects the central nervous system -- from 2003 to 2006, says the 306-page
survey.

Asian organized crime groups primarily on the West Coast also focused on
ecstasy, a psychoactive drug that is chemically similar to the stimulant
methamphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline.

They had turned "ecstasy" laboratories into "large-scale facilities" by
2007, World Drug Report 2009 says.

"Since 2003-2004, Canada has emerged as the primary source of
ecstasy-group substances for North American markets," according to the
report, produced by the Vienna-based UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

The gangs also "increasingly" exported it to other parts of the world, the
report says.

"In 2007, it was estimated that 50 per cent of domestically produced
ecstasy was trafficked outside of Canada," the report says. "Most of this
was thought to be destined for the United States, Australia and Japan."

In that year, Japan identified Canada as the single biggest source for
seized ecstasy tablets, followed by the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium,
the researchers say.

Gangs exported methamphetamine primarily into the United States, but also
to Oceania and East and South-East Asia, the report says.

For example, Australia said methamphetamine from Canada accounted for 83
per cent of total seized imports by weight. For Japan, the figure was 62
per cent.

Although only five per cent of domestically manufactured methamphetamine
was exported in 2006, by 2007 that figure was 20 per cent, the report
says.