EUROPE UNITES AGAINST CANNABIS IN ISTANBUL

In an effort to fight against drugs European leaders meet in Turkey,
one of Europe's major drug traffic hubs, to advocate a cannabis free world

The current international debate on cannabis zoomed in on Turkey,
when last week European mayors and municipal leaders combating drug
abuse gathered in Istanbul to lobby the U.S. government to continue
its fight against the legalization of cannabis and discuss the
challenges that drugs pose to their cities.

Turkey, straddling Asia and Europe, is a drug trafficking hub due to
its strategic location on the 'Balkan Route' on which drugs are
transported from Afghanistan to Europe, but also on the 'Synthetics
Route' bringing synthetic drugs, such as amphetamines and ecstasy,
produced in Europe to Saudi Arabia.

Yesterday alone, Bulgarian customs officers seized 48 kg of heroin
estimated to be worth some $3 million in a truck traveling from
Turkey to Macedonia, the customs office said on Sunday. This is the
fifth time Bulgaria has seized heroin at its Kapitan Andreevo border
checkpoint with Turkey since the beginning of the year, the customs said.

Last year the Turkish Police confiscated 23,884 kilograms of
cannabis. Heroin confiscations came in second at 10,312 kilograms
according to figures in the 2006 Report on Drugs and Organized Crime
by the Turkish Ministry of Interior (KOM). The amount of hashish
seized in Turkey between 2004 and 2006 increased by 63 percent.

John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug
Control Policy (ONDCP), told the Turkish Daily News that Turkey's
relationship with the United States in the fight against drugs has
been outstanding. He hailed the efforts of the Turkish government to
harmonize anti-drug legislation with international laws. "This allows
us to use as many of the law enforcement tools in the world as we can
to fight against drugs ... Turkey is a story of amazing success," he said.

However, Tomas Hallberg, Director of European Cities Against Drugs
(ECAD), told the TDN that there was a real risk of a drug epidemic in
Turkey because it is a transit country. "There will be a drug market
in Turkey and the level of drug users can rise," he said. Hallberg
sited the example of Pakistan which for a long time was just a drug
conduit without a real illegal drug consumption problem, and now is
struggling with increasing drug abuse cases.

Cannabis is the most widely used drug among teenagers. After
cigarettes and alcohol it is the most common introductory substance
to a life of addiction as it changes the wiring of the human brain.

When asked if the harmonization of laws with the European Union had
improved the drug forecast for Turkey Hallberg said: "The EU has a
long way to go in the fight against drugs. You cannot say there is an
EU policy against drugs," explaining that this was due to the varied
laws in different countries.

Hallberg added that the ECAD drug policy was very simple and based on
United Nations' conventions. The gist of the policy is that "it
should be difficult to take drugs but easy to get treatment."

Turkey currently has 17 drug treatment centers around the country,
most of which are managed by Turkey's Alcohol and Substance Addiction
Treatment and Training Center (AMATEM). While 2,078 individuals were
treated in the centers in 2005, there is no available data on the
amount of users, or distribution of drug use for 2006.

In the following months ECAD will conduct the European School Survey
Project on alcohol and other drugs in Istanbul in partnership with
the Istanbul Municipality, to measure the risk of drug abuse by
surveying youths between 15-16 years of age.

The United States drug czar John Walters said at the ECAD conference
held last week that the international drug problem has gone from
enormous growth to containment, thanks to international cooperation,
more of which is needed. He underlined, however, that although there
was broad consensus against the dangers of cocaine, synthetic drugs,
and heroin, "one area we have not had consensus is cannabis."

Walters accused the Soros Foundation of undermining the policies of
anti-drug organizations by funding a worldwide campaign to legalize
cannabis claiming it is not worth fighting against.

The conference was organized by ECAD representing mayors and other
local officials in 250 municipalities located in 27 countries. It is
leading organization in Europe promoting a drug free continent.
Istanbul Municipality joined ECAD in 2005