GLOBAL opium production plunged almost 40% last year but the world remains awash with heroin, the narcotic that still kills the most people worldwide, the United Nations said yesterday.

UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) head Yury Fedotov said: "Heroin continues to be the drug that kills the most people and this resurgence must be addressed urgently."

A UNODC report said production of opium, which is processed into heroin, had fallen to 4 770 tons last year, a 38% plunge from 2014.

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Progressive Plan Earns Eruption of Applause

The Liberal government used its first foray into the global anti-narcotics arena this week to signal a clear shift from the war on drugs philosophy, promising more safe-injection sites, promoting "harm reduction" and touting its plan to legalize marijuana.

The speech by Hilary Geller, an assistant deputy minister of health, caused a stir at the generally staid Commission on Narcotic Drugs conference in Vienna, observers said.

The audience of government and non-governmental organization officials from around the world "erupted in applause" midway through the address and gave a prolonged ovation at the end, said Jason Nickerson, an Ottawa-based researcher who is attending the meeting.

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Global cannabis use seemed to have decreased, reflecting a decline in some European countries, but a lower perceived risk has led to more use in the United States, a U.N. report says.

VIENNA - More Americans are consuming cannabis as their perception of the health risks declines, the U.N. drugs agency said yesterday, suggesting liberalization could further increase its use among the young.

In a finding that could feed into an international debate on the decriminalization of marijuana, it said more people around the world, including in North America, were seeking treatment for cannabis-related disorders.

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THE global fight against narcotics has suffered serious setbacks, including record opium cultivation in Afghanistan and a surge of trafficking-related violence in Central America, according to the United Nations anti-drugs chief.

At the opening of an international meeting on the issue, Yury Fedotov also noted some successes, such as a shrinking cocaine market.

There are around 27 million "problem drug users" in the world and about 210,000 narcotics-related deaths a year, a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) document prepared for the conference said.

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