Pubdate: Thu, 25 Jun 2009
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2009 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/O3vnWIvC
Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
Author: Steven Edwards, Canwest News Service; with files from Agence 
France-Presse
Referenced: World Drug Report 2009 
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/WDR-2009.html

CANADA A MAJOR DRUG EXPORTER: UN

Meth and Ecstasy

Asian and "traditional" biker gangs have dramatically stepped up 
production of illegal "party" drugs in Canada, turning the country 
into a significant exporter, the United Nations said yesterday.

In a global survey of illegal drug production and trafficking, Canada 
is identified as a "primary" world source of Ecstasy, and likely the 
biggest supplier of methamphetamine "uppers" to Australia and Japan.

"Canada has become a major trafficking hub for meth and Ecstasy," 
says World Drug Report 2009 by Vienna-based UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

Justice Minister Doug Nicholson said the expansion of illegal drug 
production in Canada could be reversed through tougher trafficking penalties.

Mr. Nicholson said Health Canada could also "look at" the idea of 
banning sales of over-the-counter precursor chemicals. But he 
returned to the idea that legislating mandatory minimum sentences for 
producers would "send the message that Canada is no place to do [this 
type of] business."

The head of UNODC said that the tough controls on illegal drugs have 
limited the death toll from narcotics.

Statistics in the report show there are between 20-24 million serious 
drug users around the world, or less than one percent of the world's 
population, UNODC executive director Antonio Maria Costa told a news 
conference.

In a preface to the UN report Mr. Costa rejected calls to legalize drugs.

"There has been a limited but growing chorus among politicians, the 
press and even in public opinion saying drug control is not working," 
Mr. Costa said.

"While changes are needed, they should be in favor of different means 
to protect society against drugs rather than by pursuing the goal of 
abandoning protection," he said.

Law enforcement should focus on drug traffickers instead of users, 
Mr. Costa said, stressing that "people who take drugs need medical 
help, not criminal retribution."

In some countries, five times as many people were jailed for drug use 
as for trafficking.

"This is a waste of money for the police, and a waste of lives for 
those thrown in jail," noted Mr. Costa. "Go after the piranhas, not 
the minnows."

The report showed global use of cocaine, heroin and cannabis fell 
last year while production of stimulants rose.

"The embedded story in this report is that the markets for the three 
main drugs -- cocaine, heroin and cannabis -- are on a downward 
trend," said Mr. Costa.

But production of man-made amphetamine-type stimulants -- including 
methamphetamines and Ecstasy, which is harder to track-- was up, the 
report showed.

"What was once a cottage industry has become big business," the report noted.

[sidebar]

143 -190 MILLION

GLOBAL DRUG USE

Statistics on drug use and mortality around the world:

Marijuana users globally

16 -51 million

Amphetamine users globally

12 -23 million

Ecstasy users globally

16 -21million

Cocaine users globally

15-21 million

Heroin users globally

20 -24 million

Number of serious drug users in the world

200,000

Deaths from drugs, yearly

5 million

Deaths from tobacco, yearly

2 million

Deaths from alcohol, yearly 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake