ILLEGAL DRUG USE AND PRODUCTION FALLS GLOBALLY

A United Nations Report Shows Progress, But Targets Afghanistan As A
Particular Problem

A United Nations (UN) report released on Monday shows that,globally,
illicit drug use, production has declined. But it fingers a key
trouble spot: Afghanistan, which has nearly doubled its opium
production since a decade ago and last year pushed global yields to a
record high.

According to Antonio Maria Costa, the executive director of the UN
Office on Drugs and Crime, the amount of land globally devoted to
producing coca fell by 29 percent to about 156,900 hectares between
2000 and 2006[PDF]. A sharp drop in Colombian production was the main reason.

The US has seen a dip in cocaine usage, though Europe has seen a
slight uptick. Still, The New York Times reports, the UN's data
indicate that on virtually every level the illegal drug trade is
receding, prompting Mr. Costa to say that efforts to contain the
problem appear to be working.

"For almost all drugs - cocaine, heroin, cannabis and amphetamines -
there are signs of overall stability, whether we speak of production,
trafficking or consumption," he said, commenting on the agency's
annual drug report that was released Monday.

In a telephone interview from the agency's Vienna headquarters, Mr.
Costa said, "The general message of this report is that we have some
pretty robust evidence that containment, a word we first used in
2004, is becoming a trend, though we need in the next few years to
prove that it is statistically and logically strong."

"It still could be a fluke," he said, "but we hope to prove that it's
now cyclical."

Based on information from 2005-06, the report indicates that among 15
to 64 year olds around the world, almost 5 percent, or about 200
million people, use illegal drugs. The Financial Times reports that
"problem drug users"-- heroin and cocaine addicts -- total 25 million.

Heroin and cocaine use globally appears to have stabilised, though
the report says declining cocaine consumption in the US has been
offset by alarming increases in Europe. Meanwhile, cannabis
production and consumption have leveled off for the first time in decades.

On the supply side there has been a steady increase in drug seizures,
last year accounting for an estimated 42 per cent of global cocaine
production and 26 per cent of heroin.

The situation in Afghanistan stands in stark contrast to the apparent
progress in the fight against narcotics elsewhere around the world.
The BBC reports that the troubled country now accounts for about 90
percent of the world's opium (used to make heroin). Despite the
presence of more than 30,000 international troops there, opium
production managed to climb substantially. In the 1980s, Afghanistan
was responsible for 30 percent of the world's opium. That figure has
now more than tripled. Helmand Province alone produces more opium
than entire countries, says the report's author, Thomas Pietschmann.

"The province of Helmand itself is around 70,000 hectares under
cultivation, which is three times the total area under cultivation in
Myanmar (Burma).

"So only one province, three times as important as the whole of
Myanmar, the second-largest opium-producing country," Mr Pietschmann says.

As the drug trade continues to boom in places like Afghanistan,
Reuters reports that Africa may be at risk of becoming the
"crossroads of international drug crime."

"There are warning signs that Africa is also under attack, targeted
by cocaine traffickers from the west - Colombia - and heroin
smugglers in the east -- Afghanistan," the report said.

"This threat needs to be addressed quickly to stamp out drug-related
crime, money-laundering and corruption, and to prevent the spread of
drug use that could cause havoc across a continent already plagued by
other tragedies."

The release of the new drug report coincides with the International
Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, a day created by the
UN "as an expression of its determination to strengthen action and
cooperation to achieve the goal of an international society free of
drug abuse." In recognition of the awareness day, nations from around
the world have renewed their pledge to continue fighting illegal drugs.

Vietnamese officials announced the start of a three-year antidrug
campaign that will utilize a UN slogan to encourage citizens to
consider negative consequences before they begin using drugs, reports
Viet Nam News. Already, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has taken a
hard line against drug users, ordering an intense crackdown from May
26 to Sept. 26.

The campaign is aimed at calling all people, including the 23mil
students nationwide, to respond to the UN slogan "Do drugs control
your life? Your Life, Your Community. No Place for Drugs."

The slogan will be used for three years for a campaign focused on
different aspects of drug control: drug abuse in 2007, drug
cultivation and production in 2008 and illegal drug trafficking in 2009.

The Sangai Express reports that in Imphal, India, the Committee on
Anti-Drug and Alcohol organized a weeklong festival in honor of the
UN day against drug abuse. Events will include a march, where locals
will carry torches, as well as a motorcycle rally.

In Azerbaijan, the Azeri-Press Agency reports that Baku, the nation's
capital, hosted a conference in honor of the UN-sponsored day, saying
that it was important to raise youth awareness.

The Cabinet of Ministers' officer for military and administrative
organs, Azim Piriyev, said the government has strengthened its
activities against narcotics and hundred kilograms of illicit drugs
were confiscated and burned. Besides, narcotics trade and illegal
border trespassing were prevented. ... The National Security Ministry
representative Ramiz Hasanov noted that more than 253 kilograms of
illicit drugs were confiscated in the six months.