Pubdate: Mon, 14 May 2007
Source: Turkish Daily News (Turkey)
Copyright: 2007 Dogan Daily News Inc.
Contact:  http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4397
Author: Damaris Kremida
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/walters.htm (Walters, John)

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
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman