HEROIN DEATHS IN DECLINE - REPORT

The United Nations' drug control body has released its annual report,
finding that the number of heroin-related deaths in Australia is on the
decline, and that the drug is not as readily available.

The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) has also used the report
to restate its opposition to the injecting room trial in Sydney's Kings Cross.

The INCB, which is based in Vienna, says it remains opposed to the trial,
and even goes so far as to say it regrets that the trial has been extended.

It credits the reduced availability of heroin in Australia to successful
law enforcement operations, which it says have broken up international
trafficking rings transporting heroin from south-east Asia.

The INCB also warns that synthetic drugs like ecstasy could become the main
illicit drugs of the future.

It warns that the supply of legally-available "precursor" chemicals - used
to make ecstasy and other amphetamines - has to be stopped before they
reach illicit drug labs.

The report also points out that sustainable and peaceful development cannot
happen in Afghanistan without a comprehensive national drug strategy.

It has launched a major initiative, Project Prism, which aims to cut off
the supply of base chemicals used in the production of amphetamines.