Designer drugs like Ecstasy and crystal meth are on the rise worldwide. On the other hand, the demand for conventional drugs such as cocaine and cannabis decreases. These are some of the conclusions presented in the recently published World Drug Report by the United Nations.
Global demand for cocaine, opiates, and cannabis is stagnant or shrinking, while the production and consumption of synthetic drugs is increasing – particularly in developing countries and emerging economies. This is the conclusion of the World Drug Report 2009 issued by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Afghanistan which previously owned 93 percent of world opium production saw a 19 percent drop in 2008. In Colombia where half of global cocaine production volume is found, coca cultivation declined by roughly 18 percent. Despite an increase in cultivation and production in Peru and Bolivia, worldwide coca production as ascertained by UNODC investigation has been on a five-year low.
”The $50 billion global cocaine market is experiencing seismic changes in scale,” said UNODC chief Antonio Maria Costa in the report. Seizures in the main consumer countries have been rising in number. Cocaine prices have increased. Consumption patterns have been changing. In Central America, cartels are fighting for a shrinking market.
While 41 percent of the worldwide volume of cocaine was seized, only 19 percent of all opiates fell in the hands of authorities. The worst affected were Iran and Pakistan where most of opiates (opium, morphine and heroin) were seized.
On the other hand, markets for synthetic drugs such as amphetamines, methamphetamines, and Ecstasy are developing. Thus, factories and large laboratories in Southeast Asia have been producing huge quantities of methamphetamine tablets, crystal meth, and other substances such as ketamine. Some EU countries are now major suppliers of Ecstasy, while Canada has become a major transshipment point for crystal meth and Ecstasy. In the Middle East, the consumption of the amphetamine Captagon has skyrocketed.
Also, the illegal drug trade routes are shifting, UNODC warns. In 2007, Saudi Arabia seized a third of all amphetamine substances group worldwide, totaling more than all efforts in China and the United States.
Thus, the UNODC in a ‘triangle initiative’ among Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan developed means to interrupt the early trade routes. “The more opium seized in Afghanistan’s neighborhood, the less heroin arrives on the streets of Europe. This, in turn, will lead to more stability in the Middle East,” said Costa.
Via UNODC
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