23 Jun 2010

UN / WORLD DRUG REPORT 2010 ADVANCER

The latest World Drug Report 2010 by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) shows that drug use is shifting towards new drugs and new markets. The 'World Drug Report 2010′will be launched on Wednesday at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. UNTV / FILE (***EMBARGOED 23 JUNE 2010 1400 GMT***)

Posted at: June 23, 2010 8:00 am

Duration: 02:02

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STORY: UN / WORLD DRUG REPORT 2010 ADVANCER
TRT: 2.02
SOURCE: UNAMA / UNTV / UNODC
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: FILE

FILE – UNAMA - DATE UNKNOWN, AFGHANISTAN

1. Various shots, poppy fields

FILE – UNTV - 17 JUNE 2010, NEW YORK CITY

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Antonio Maria Costa, Director, UNODC:
"Together with law enforcement we believe at UNODC that market, illicit market should be disrupted, illicit market obviously consists of supply but also demand and of course intermediation by organized crime groups. The reduction of demand is obviously much more visible, tangible regarding drugs, one of the illicit commodities, probably the one most intensively traded and the one which generates the highest amount of income. We have been saying at UNODC that prevention and treatment –which has been neglected in a number of countries, as a mater of fact the ratio between law enforcement and demand reduction in the expenditure of most countries is seven to one. Seven times more money for law enforcement regarding drug control than for demand reduction- so we need to enhance that as a one way to limit the growth of the size of the drug market."

FILE – UNODC - JUNE 2006 - ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS

3. Various shots, heroin users preparing the powder for a fix

FILE – UNTV - 17 JUNE 2010, NEW YORK CITY

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Antonio Maria Costa, Director, UNODC:
"We had some interesting development that we've had in the past few years, major reduction of the consumption of cocaine in the United States; a certain amount of reduction of heroine consumption in Europe; so this demand, reduction measures do deliver results."

FILE – UNTV – 17, 29 NOVEMBER 2008, AGUAYTIA, PERU

5. Various shots, coca plantations

FILE – UNTV – 5 MAY 2006, DUSHANBE, TAJIKISTAN

6. Close up, drugs box opened 
7. Med shot, drug bags being opened 
8. Close up, heroin bag 
9. Wide shot, drugs thrown at incinerator 
10. Close up, drugs thrown at incinerator

STORYLINE:

The latest report for the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) shows that drug cultivation is declining in Afghanistan (for opium) and the Andean countries (coca), and drug use has stabilized in the developed world. However, there are signs of an increase in drug use in developing countries, and growing abuse of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) and prescription drugs around the world.

The report shows that the world's supply of the two main problem drugs – opiates and cocaine – keeps declining. The global area under opium cultivation has dropped by almost a quarter (23 per cent) in the past two years, and opium production looks set to fall steeply in 2010 due to a blight that could wipe out a quarter of Afghanistan's poppy crop.

Coca cultivation, down by 28 per cent in the past decade, has kept declining in 2009. World cocaine production has declined by 12-18 per cent over the 2007-2009 period.

Global potential heroin production fell by 13 per cent to 657 tons in 2009, reflecting lower opium production in both Afghanistan and Myanmar. The actual amount of heroin reaching the market is much lower (around 430 tons) since significant amounts of opium are being stockpiled.

The global heroin market, estimated at US$55 billion, is concentrated in Afghanistan (which accounts for 90 per cent of supply), Russia, Iran and Western Europe which together consume half the heroin produced in the world.

The 'World Drug Report 2010' shows that cocaine consumption has fallen significantly in the United States in the past few years. The retail value of the US cocaine market has declined by about two thirds in the 1990s, and by about one quarter in the past decade.

The global number of people using amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) estimated at around 30-40 million – is soon likely to exceed the number of opiate and cocaine users combined. There is also evidence of increasing abuse of prescription drugs.

Cannabis remains the world's most widely produced and used illicit substance: it is grown in almost all countries of the world, and is smoked by 130-190 million people at least once a year – though these parameters are not very telling in terms of addiction. The fact that cannabis use is declining in some of its highest value markets, namely North America and parts of Europe, is another indication of shifting patterns of drug abuse.

The 'World Drug Report 2010' exposes a serious lack of drug treatment facilities around the world. It estimates that in 2008, only around a fifth of problem drug users worldwide had received treatment in the past year, which means around 20 million drug dependent people did not receive treatment.