NO RISE IN DRUG MARKETS

WASHINGTON —- In its annual report on world drug use, the United
Nations concludes that global markets for cocaine, opiates and
marijuana are holding steady or in decline.

Yet about 28 million people are heavy drug users likely to be
physically or psychologically dependent on drugs, the report said.

Opium cultivation in Afghanistan, where 93 percent of the world’s
opium is grown, dropped by 19 percent last year, the Vienna-based U.N.
Office on Drugs and Crime reported Wednesday. And there was a 28
percent decline —- the report called it staggering —- in production of
cocaine in Colombia, which produces half the world’s cocaine, the
report said.

Global production of coca hit a five-year low at 845 tons despite some
increased cultivation in Peru and Bolivia. Marijuana remained the most
widely used and cultivated drug in the world and it is more harmful
than commonly believed, the report said.

The estimated cost of the world’s illicit drug market is about $320
billion, said Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the U.N. office.

“This makes drugs one of the most valuable commodities in the world,”
he said.