Pubdate: Fri, 25 Jun 2010 Source: Himalayan Times, The (Nepal) Copyright: 2010 The Himalayan Times Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/cvzLserF Website: http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5107 Referenced: World Drug Report 2010 http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/WDR-2010.html UNODC CONCERNED ON DRUG ABUSE KATHMANDU: On the eve of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking that falls tomorrow, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has sounded the alarm that there is risk of public health disaster in less developed countries, including Nepal. The designated theme for this year is 'Think Health, Not Drugs'. Drug Report- 2010 released by UNODC said, "Poor countries have other priorities and fewer resources. They are not in a position to absorb the consequences of increased drug use. As a result, there is now the risk of a public health disaster in developing countries that would enslave masses of humanity to the misery of drugs." According to the report, opium is consumed in countries like Bangladesh and Nepal. But Afghanistan does not appear to be the source. Government reports and recent field research have confirmed the existence of illicit poppy cultivation in Nepal as well as in the bordering areas of Bangladesh and India. "Until now, it was generally assumed that these markets were captured by Myanmar and Afghan suppliers, but the possibility of an emerging regional source of supply cannot be discounted and needs to be studied further," read the report. In Nepal, heroin consumption appears to have increased in recent years. According to official reports of the governments of Nepal and Bangladesh, almost all the heroin consumed in those countries are produced in India. "Cannabis has been suggested as a source of funding for rebel movements in regions as diverse as Casamance (Senegal), Aceh (Indonesia) and southern Nepal," read the report. The 2006 government report suggested that 0.24 per cent of population aged between 15 to 64 were drug abusers. Opium poppy was reportedly removed from 95 hectares of land from 2002 to 2009. Narcotic Drugs Control Law Enforcement Unit (NDCLEU), New Baneshwor, is the only agency battling Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in the country. The illegal drugs are usually trafficked to other countries via Tribhuvan International Airport, taking advantage of lax security. Deputy Inspector General of Police Ganesh Raj Rai informed that Nepal was on the verge of becoming a safe haven for national and international drug smugglers, who would send the drugs to Europe and America, thanks to the lack of adequate resources and hi-tech gadgets to check the crime at TIA. "We are doing our best to control drugs trafficking and to bring the guilty to book," DIGP Rai stated. Pakistanis and Africans have topped the list of foreigners smuggling drugs like hashish and heroin to other countries. According to police, more than 500 drug traffickers and peddlers, both Nepali and foreign, were brought to book over a period of one year. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake