INTRO: A UNITED NATIONS MEETING ON THE WORLD DRUG PROBLEM CLOSED WEDNESDAY WITH PLEDGES OF NEW INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN THE FIGHT AGAINST DRUG SUPPLY AND DEMAND. V-O-A'S MAX RUSTON REPORTS FROM THE UNITED NATIONS.

TEXT: THE THREE-DAY CONFERENCE CLOSED WITH PASSAGE OF A POLITICAL DECLARATION SETTING DEADLINES FOR SPECIFIC MEASURES IN THE FIGHT AGAINST DRUGS.

GOVERNMENTS AT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY SPECIAL SESSION ON DRUGS PROMISE TO ESTABLISH ENHANCED DRUG-REDUCTION PROGRAMS IN PUBLIC HEALTH, SOCIAL WELFARE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT BY 2003. THEY PLEDGE TO SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE THE ILLICIT CULTIVATION OF THE COCA BUSH, THE CANNABIS PLANT AND THE OPIUM POPPY BY 2008.

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INTRO: ONE OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST CONFERENCES ON THE GLOBAL DRUG PROBLEM ENDED TODAY (WEDNESDAY) IN NEW YORK. MORE THAN 150 NATIONS PROMISED NEW MEASURES TO FIGHT THE PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION OF ILLICIT DRUGS. V-O-A'S MAX RUSTON REPORTS ON THE CONCLUSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY SPECIAL SESSION ON THE WORLD DRUG PROBLEM.

TEXT: FOR THREE DAYS -- FROM EARLY MORNING TO LATE NIGHT -- HEADS OF STATES AND GOVERNMENT MINISTERS SPOKE FROM THE PODIUM IN THE HALL OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY. REPRESENTATIVES OF COUNTRIES FROM AFGHANISTAN TO ZAMBIA, FROM EVERY CONTINENT, SPOKE AT THE CONFERENCE. THE COMMON THEME IN THOSE SPEECHES WAS A WARNING THAT DRUGS POSE ONE OF THE MOST SERIOUS THREATS TO PEACE AND STABILITY IN THE 21ST CENTURY.

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INTRO: WORLD LEADERS ARE HOLDING A SECOND DAY OF TALKS TODAY (TUESDAY) AT THE UNITED NATIONS ON THE GLOBAL DRUG PROBLEM. THEY ARE WORKING ON A POLITICAL DECLARATION, TO BE ISSUED WEDNESDAY, PROMISING BROAD NEW INTERNATIONAL MEASURES TO FIGHT DRUG CONSUMPTION AND TRAFFICKING. V-O-A'S UNITED NATIONS CORRESPONDENT MAX RUSTON REPORTS.

TEXT: THE SECOND DAY OF THE U-N GENERAL ASSEMBLY'S SPECIAL SESSION ON THE WORLD DRUG PROBLEM OPENED WITH SPEECHES FROM THE HEADS OF GOVERNMENT OF KYRGYZSTAN, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO AND MOROCCO.

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INTRO: THE UNITED NATIONS TODAY (TUESDAY) REJECTED SUGGESTIONS THAT ITS INTERNATIONAL DRUG CONFERENCE, NOW UNDERWAY IN NEW YORK, IS PROMOTING UNREALISTIC PLEDGES AND INEFFECTIVE PROGRAMS. V-O-A'S MAX RUSTON REPORTS FROM THE UNITED NATIONS.

TEXT: A U-N SPOKESMAN GAVE REPORTERS A LENGTHY DEFENSE OF THE DRUG CONFERENCE IN RESPONSE TO AN EDITORIAL IN THE NEW YORK TIMES NEWSPAPER. THE EDITORIAL DESCRIBES THE CONFERENCE AS "WELL INTENTIONED BUT MISDIRECTED" AND SAYS THE POLICIES THE UNITED NATIONS IS SUPPORTING COULD ACTUALLY HINDER EFFECTIVE DRUG PROGRAMS.

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Intro: The special anti-drug session of the UN General Assembly is in its second day in New York (Tuesday). The conference is working to adopt a common strategy to fight the international narcotics trade. As correspondent Gary Thomas reports from Bangkok, southeast Asia remains a huge producer of illegal narcotics -- and gets mixed reviews for its efforts to eradicate the trade.

Text: Burma's official Myanmar News Agency reported Tuesday the arrest of three suspected drug dealers near the Thai border and the seizure of more than one-million amphetamine tablets.

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Intro: In Afghanistan, the Taleban authorities have given a commitment to eradicate the cultivation of opium poppy in areas under their control. As Ali Zaidi reports from Islamabad, the United Nations Drug Control Program (UNDCP) in return would invest millions of dollars in alternative development projects over the next ten years.

Text: The newly appointed chief of the United Nations drug control program Pino Arlacchi says the Taleban have agreed to cooperate with the agency in an ambitious new project to eliminate opium poppy production in Afghanistan.

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THE FEDERATION OF AMERICAN SCIENTISTS IS URGING THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION AND CONGRESS TO REDESIGN THE WAR ON DRUGS BASED ON WHAT WORKS, NOT ON WHAT SOUNDS GOOD. VOA SENIOR CORRESPONDENT DON HENRY REPORTS A FORMER TOP GOVERNMENT SCIENTIST TOLD A WASHINGTON NEWS CONFERENCE (TODAY) POLICY SHOULD BE DRIVEN BY FACTS AND NOT RHETORIC.

CHARLES SCHUSTER, LEADING DRUG ABUSE EXPERT DURING THE REAGAN AND BUSH ADMINISTRATIONS, TOLD REPORTERS US DRUG POLICY IS INEFFECTIVE BECAUSE IT IS BASED LARGELY ON POLITICAL CONSIDERATIONS.

THE FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE SAYS THE GOAL OF THE FEDERATION OF AMERICAN SCIENTISTS IS TO PERSUADE POLITICIANS TO FORGET IDEOLOGY AND LET SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH DO THE TALKING.

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