DESIGNER DRUGS ON THE RISE AS DEMAND FOR TRADITIONAL DRUGS LEVELS OFF, UN REPORTS ON WORLD DRUG DAY

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From: UNNews <UNNews@un.org>
Date: 26 Jun 2013 10:00:01 -0400
Subject: DESIGNER DRUGS ON THE RISE AS DEMAND FOR TRADITIONAL DRUGS
LEVELS OFF, UN REPORTS ON WORLD DRUG DAY
To: news11@ny-mail-p-lb-028.ptc.un.org

DESIGNER DRUGS ON THE RISE AS DEMAND FOR TRADITIONAL DRUGS LEVELS OFF,
UN REPORTS ON WORLD DRUG DAY
New York, Jun 26 2013 10:00AM
While the use of traditional drugs is largely stable, demand is
soaring for untested concoctions of psychoactive substances that
threaten to be more dangerous, the head of the United Nations drug and
crime agency said, marking the International Day against Drug Abuse
and Illicit Trafficking.

The popularity of traditional drugs, such as cannabis -- still the
most widely used illicit substance -- heroin and cocaine seems to be
declining in some parts of the world, while the abuse of prescription
drugs and new psychoactive substances (NPS) is on the rise, according
to the <" http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2013/June/2013-world-drug-report-stability-in-use-of-traditional-drugs-alarming-rise-in-new-psychoactive-substances.html?ref=fs1">2013
World Drug Report launched today in Vienna, Austria.

Sold openly, including online, NPS are marketed as "legal highs" with
nicknames such as "spice", "plant food", "bath salts" and "meow meow",
a type of mephedrone with effects similar to the effects of cocaine,
amphetamines and ecstasy.

"There is an alarming new drug problem," UN Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC) Executive Director Yury Fedotov said, using the occasion of
the International Day against Drug Abuse to launch the report at a
special high-level event of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND),
the central UN policymaking body dealing with drug-related matters.

The drugs are called "designer" because they are based on existing
illegal recreation drugs with chemical structures that are modified to
varying degrees to evade the drug laws. The mixtures of NPS can easily
cross from "safe" to toxic, resulting in "delirium and violent
behaviour."

The number of NPS reported by Member States to UNODC rose from 166 at
the end of 2009 to 251 by mid-2012, an increase of more than 50 per
cent, according to the UN agency. It now exceeds the total number of
the 234 substances under international control.

"Given the almost infinite scope to alter the chemical structure of
NPS, new formulations are outpacing efforts to impose international
control," Mr. Fedotov said.

In response to the proliferation of NPS, UNODC has launched an early
warning system which the UN said will allow the global community to
monitor their emergence and take appropriate actions.

UNODC is also supporting its "Make health your 'new high' in life, not
drugs," awareness <"
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2013/June/on-world-drug-day-the-message-is-make-health-your-new-high.html?ref=fs2">campaign
to inform the public, particularly young people, about the harmful
effects of NPS.

"The campaign aims to mobilize support and inspire young people to act
against drug abuse," Mr. Fedotov said in his message for the Day.

While NPS is on the rise, the use of traditional drugs appears largely
stable, according to the UNODC report.

The use of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS), excluding ecstasy whose
popularity dipped, appears on the rise worldwide. In 2011, an
estimated 0.7 per cent of the global population aged 15-64, or 33.8
million people, had used ATS in the preceding year.

Methamphetamine continues to dominate the ATS business, accounting for
71 per cent of the global ATS seizures in 2011. Seizures of crystal
methamphetamine increased 8.8 tonnes, the highest level during the
past five years, indicating the substance is "an imminent threat," the
UN agency reported.

In Europe, heroin use seems to be declining, according to UNODC's
report. The use of opiates -- heroin and opium -- remains unchanged,
but there are instances of higher opiate use in South-West and Central
Asia, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe and North America.

In terms of production, Afghanistan retained its infamous title of
lead producer and cultivator of opium, accounting for 75 per cent of
global opium production in 2012 of 236,320 hectares.

Meanwhile, cocaine, on the decline in the US -- the world's largest
market -- seems to be expanding in South America and the emerging
economies in Asia.

Estimates of the amounts of cocaine manufactured ranged from 776 to
1,051 tonnes in 2011, largely unchanged from a year earlier. The
world's largest cocaine seizures -- unadjusted for purity -- continue
to be reported from Colombia and the US at 200 and 94 tonnes,
respectively.

The report is considered "a key measuring stick" in the lead up to the
UN General Assembly special session on the issue in 2016 and the 2014
high-level review of the implementation of the Political Declaration
adopted by the Assembly's 1998 special session on the World Drug
Problem.

"We have agreed on a path for our ongoing discussion," Mr. Fedotov
told the CND meeting.

He added that he hoped the discussions would lead to an affirmation of
the importance of the international drug control conventions, as well
as an acknowledgement that the conventions are humane, human-rights
centred and flexible.

The head of the UN agency stressed that there must also be a firm
emphasis on health and support for alternative sustainable
livelihoods.

"It is also essential that we recognize the important role played by
criminal justice systems in countering the world drug problem and the
need for enhanced work against precursor chemicals," he told the
participants.

In his message on the International Day, UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon called for a comprehensive response to the world drug problem,
one that included legal action and robust law enforcement, as well as
prevention and treatment approaches "rooted in science, public health
and human rights."

"The goal of our work must be to reduce the number of people in
prison, decrease the physical and mental health burden of drugs, and
prevent HIV transmission," he declared, adding: "Let us work together
to help millions of people around the world escape the destructive
impact of illicit drugs."

The UN chief called on governments, the media and civil society to do
everything possible to raise awareness of the harm caused by illicit
drugs.
Jun 26 2013 10:00AM
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