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BKK POST: Drug use in East Asia o
- Subject: BKK POST: Drug use in East Asia o
- From: suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 07:44:00
March 29, 1998
NARCOTICS
Drug use in East
Asia on the rise
Heroin injections continue to spread
Anucha Charoenpo
The drug situation in East Asia has got worse as illicit poppy
cultivation, opium production, heroin manufacture and opiate
trafficking increase, particularly in Burma, the International
Narcotics Control Board's (INCB)'s 1997 Annual Report
revealed yesterday.
The INCB's 1997 document, just released, reviews the world
drug situation and the development of various drug control
efforts.
For East Asia, the report indicates that apart from Burma, heroin
injections continue to spread in the region, particularly in some
southern provinces of China.
In addition, the illicit manufacture of and traffic in amphetamines
are rising with the spread of abuse posing a major challenge in
some countries in the region. Also the illicit traffic in acetic
anhydride (used to manufacture heroin) and in ephedrine and
pseudoephedrine (used to produce metamphetamine) continues
to be a problem in the region, the report noted.
To improve the better drug situation, INCB sought the further
development of the sub-regional cooperation on drug control
between Cambodia, China, Laos, Burma, Thailand and Vietnam
and characterised the establishment of the Asia/Pacific Group on
Money Laundering and its regional plan of action, as important
steps in the fight against money-laundering.
The INCB's 1997 Annual Report note that governments are
faced with creating successful drug abuse prevention strategies,
in an environment more and more characterised by public
messages that tolerate and even actively promote, as chic and
harmless, recreational drugs use.
The report eventually note that the INCB calls on governments
to counteract pro-drug messages spread by some politicians,
pop culture idols (particularly those in popular music) and some
media to which young people are increasingly exposed. The
most worrisome development is a drug-friendliness culture that
seems to be gaining prominence.
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