U.N. Warns Of Opium, Coca Glut

Cultivation Of The Raw Materials Used To Make Heroin And Cocaine Has Exploded, The U.N. Says

(AP)  More than ever before, authorities waging the global war on drugs are up against real insurgents.

Worldwide, illicit cultivation of opium and coca - the raw materials for heroin and cocaine - is rising as militants in Afghanistan, Colombia and Myanmar consolidate their control of key drug-producing areas, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime warns in a new report.

"The explosion of narcotics in those areas is explained by their presence and the protection they offer," agency chief Antonio Maria Costa told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday.

"I believe that slowly these people, although politically motivated at the beginning, are becoming a kind of organized crime," he said. "Money tends to stick to fingers, and a big lump of money becomes very problematic."

In its World Drug Report 2008 being released Thursday, Costa's office calls the glut of opium and coca "a very recent surge" and draws a direct link to Taliban militants in Afghanistan, armed revolutionaries in Colombia and several ethnic insurgency groups in Myanmar.

Afghanistan had a record opium poppy harvest in 2007, nearly doubling worldwide illegal opium production. U.N. experts say 80 percent of the poppy was grown in five southern provinces where Taliban fighters profit from drugs.

"In the southern areas controlled by the Taliban, counter-narcotics and counter-insurgency must be fought together," Costa said.

Officials say the expanding role of insurgents in the global narcotics trade is especially worrisome because their drug profits are used to bribe police and government authorities and to help finance terrorists.

And insurgent activity is making it increasingly difficult for the U.S., Britain and others to deliver cash incentives to farmers as an enticement to not grow lucrative opium or coca, Costa told the AP.

Wherever the security situation slows down or thwarts efforts to distribute incentives, "cultivation gets out of control," he said.

In South America, where the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, is waging an insurgency, coca production shot up 27 percent last year, the report said. Most of that coca came from regions under the insurgents' control, "just like in Afghanistan," Costa said.

"Recent major increases in drug supply from Afghanistan and Colombia may drive addiction rates up because of lower prices and higher purity of doses," he warned.

Colombia's government has put the FARC on the defensive, driving the rebels deeper into the jungle and killing or capturing several top commanders. Signs that the group is in disarray have fueled hopes that officials may find it easier to control cultivation, Costa added.

But Southeast Asia poses a fresh challenge: Opium cultivation there rose in 2007, reversing six years of decline.

In Myanmar, also known as Burma, it increased 29 percent. The U.N. said most of the gains were in southern Shan state, where rebels seeking autonomy from Myanmar's ruling junta have clashed with the military.

"Some of the world's biggest drug-producing regions are out of control of the central government," Costa said.

Afghanistan remains the drug war's biggest problem because it now accounts for more than 90 percent of global opium production, the report said.

The U.S. has a record 33,000 troops in Afghanistan, part of an international force that has grown to almost 70,000 troops. NATO has urged alliance members to contribute up to another 10,000 forces.

Meanwhile, major smuggling routes for narcotics, especially cocaine, are shifting to West Africa, the report said, pointing to steady demand for cocaine in Europe and intensified law enforcement along traditional trafficking routes.

Despite the setbacks, the report highlights some key gains in a century of efforts to combat illicit drug production and trafficking. It says illicit drug use worldwide has largely stabilized over the past decade. Fewer than 5 percent of the world's people aged 15-64 have tried an illegal drug at least once in the past year, and only 0.6 percent of the world's population are addicted.

Even so, that still means a staggering 26 million people have a severe drug dependence.

"Drugs continue to destroy lives," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a message for Thursday's observance of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

The Transnational Institute, an Amsterdam, Netherlands-based think tank, criticized the report as "an elaborate exercise of obscuring the failure of 10 years of international drug control policy."

"There is overwhelming evidence that the current approach to drug control has failed," said Martin Jelsma, coordinator of the group's drug program.

Ban and Costa both urged the world's nations to respect the rights of addicts and suspected traffickers alike, noting that 2008 marks the 60th anniversary of the U.N.'s 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Ban called on the international community to ensure suspects get fair trials and addicts get treatment, and Costa condemned the use of the death penalty for drug-related crimes. Up to 60 nations, most in Asia and the Arab world, have capital punishment for drug offenses.

"Although drugs kill, we should not kill because of drugs," Costa said.

[feelfree4u]

How many wars is the regime losing simultaneously now?

Re: "Cultivation Of The Raw Materials Used To Make Heroin And Cocaine Has Exploded, The U.N. Says"

Is it any wonder that al-CIA''duh is so well funded?

Coca leaves are NOT cocaine, and I don''t see anything wrong with them in that form.

[inventagod2]

The USA has wasted untold billions on this ''war''.

Those dollars were yours and mine.

[lewiston14]

I do not do drugs myself (I know its my problem) but through the years I have come to the conclusion that governments don%u2019t like this stuff because big money is changing hands without them getting a piece of the action better then wasting your time growing corn or soybeans. If the government got 30 percent you be able to buy this stuff at your local gas station. Who cares if they fry their heads that%u2019s their business.

[sgtrds-e4]

As for the heroin and coke ingredients coming out of Afghanistan I have a question. Is Bush taking his cut of the profits in cash or in product?

[darwin200]

I wish we could put that in our tank.

[brianbwb-2009]

"Afghanistan had a record opium poppy harvest in 2007, nearly doubling worldwide illegal opium production. U.N. experts say 80 percent of the poppy was grown in five southern provinces where Taliban fighters profit from drugs."

This is a blatant lie.

"in 2000 the Taliban banned opium production, a first in Afghan history. In 2000, Afghanistan''s opium production still accounted for 75% of the world''s supply. On July 27, 2000, the Taliban again issued a decree banning opium poppy cultivation. According to opioids.com, by February 2001, production had been reduced from 12,600 acres (51 km2) to only 17 acres. When the Taliban entered north Waziristan in 2003 they immediately banned poppy cultivation and punished those who sold it.

However, with the 2001 US/Northern Alliance expulsion of the Taliban, opium cultivation has increased in the southern provinces liberated from the Taliban control,[106] and by 2005 production was 87% of the world''s opium supply, rising to 90% in 2006."

The Taliban are by no means angels, but this one is squarely on Bush.

[feelfree4u]

Exxon-Mobil always gets their cut- no matter what.

[omaar-101]

By All Means, Praise the Incompetent, 2 Term Aryan`s George W. Bush Jr. & D!ck Cheney !!!

Just look at the Great Condition, George Bush & D!ck Cheney, have left Our Great & Prosperous Nation.

Look at the Mortgage Crisis, Look at the Record High Foreclosures !!

No Big Deal !!

Look at the High Outsourcing of Manufacturing Jobs to International Countries and the High Unemployment rate, here in the USA.

Thats OK Bush Jr. has the Utmost EXPERIENCE in National & International Affairs.

Though Bush had No National-International Experience, Prior to becoming President.

Sure his Father Bush Sr. & Bush Jr. have a more than 25 Yrs. Family Friends Relationship, with the Bin Ladens and still are Family Friends of the Bin Ladens.

Sure Bush Jr. gave FBI Clearence to Fly the Bin Ladens & the Elite Saudi`s home just days after (911)..

During a No Fly Zone Period, when Bush could`ve Detained them, until Bin Laden`s Capture or Surrender...

No Big Deal !!

Never mind the Direct Saudi Arabian & United Arab Emirates (911 Connection) to Piloting the Planes.

No Big Deal !!

Never Mind Bush Jr. Allowing the United Arab Emirates Controling All the USA`s Major Shipping Ports, with Help from Bush & Bill Clinton.

Bush Jr. is White, he has the National & International Experience...

Did I mention, George Bush Jr. is White..

Keep the White House...White !!!!

[omaar-101]

Arnold Schwarzenegger slammed ''politicians'' who support lifting the ban on U.S. offshore oil...
---------------------------------------------------

I''ve tried to Inform you all, that it will take at least 10-17 years for this Offshore Oil to get to Land and by that Time, we''ll be either driving Diesel or Electric cars or the Horse & Carriage !!!


ABC News'' Tahman Bradley and Bret Hovell Report: In a strong rebuke Thursday of lifting the ban on U.S. Offshore Oil Drilling, California Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger seemed to knock the standard-bearers of his party: President Bush and Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Schwarzenegger, a long critic of his party on the environment, used surprisingly frank language to buck politicians who support lifting the (27-Year-Old Ban of Offshore Drilling)

"Politicians have been throwing around all kinds of ideas in response to the skyrocketing energy prices, from the rethinking of Nuclear Power to pushing Biofuels and more Renewables and Ending the Ban on Offshore Drilling, it goes on and on the list," Schwarzenegger said, per The Saint Petersburg Times.

"But, anyone who tells you this will lower our gas prices anytime soon is Blowing Smoke."

Mr. Schwarzenegger made his remarks in Florida at Gov. Charlie Crist''s climate change summit. Crist may as well consider himself one of the Politicians that Schwarzenegger was broadly referring to.

An Enthusiastic McCain ally, Crist too Favors Lifting the Drilling Ban.

[killtheliars]

can we figure out how to make fuel out of this stuff????

[tootall10142]

THIS WAS MOSTLY UNSEEN OPERATION UNTIL THE WAR.OH AND DONT BUY CIGNA INS.

[samsel3]

Posted by brianbwb at 02:00 AM : Jun 27, 2008
You are correct! U S troops are told that they can pass through the poppy fields but cannot touch the crops. The use of a private contractor destroying crops has been selective and only for the media as a smoke screen to make it appear that something is being done. The US has lied about the Taliban blaming them for the opiate production but the truth is drugs are against their religion and that is why the Taliban were destroying poppy production prior to the Afghan invasion....You can''t believe anything from this administration it''s all BULL.........

[petro49l]

Poppies, coca, and cannabis are commercial crops. Corporations purchase the harvest for medical products. Police issues are with common heads (addicts), not with the Public. Myanmar, Columbia, and Afghanistan grow to please the World.