UNODC

United Nations on Dings and Crime (UNODC) (2008) World Drug Report 2008... 

Finnegan LP (1979). Pathophysiological and behavioural effects of the transplacental transfer of narcotic drugs to the foetuses and neonates of narcotic-dependent mothers. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Available at http //www.unodc.org/unodc/en/ bulletin/bulletin 1979-01-01 3 page002.html n05... 

United Nations Office Drug Crime (UNODC) (2006) 2006 World Drug Report, vol 1-2. UN Publications, Geneva... 

United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention. (2001). Global Illicit Drug Trends 2001. New York United Nations Publication. 247. http / /www.unodc.org/pdf/report 2001-06-26 1/report 2001-06-26 l.pdf (for full text)... 

All over the world, regional cooperation is essential. In 2007, UNODC looks forward to the opening of regional counter-narcotic information-sharing centres in Central Asia and the Gulf. The time is ripe to consider the creation of a similar mechanism to facilitate drug-related intelligence cooperation in South East Asia. 

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is a global leader in the multilateral effort against illicit drugs and international crime. The three pillars of its work programme are ... 

Recognizing the importance of comprehensive, factual and objective information in the field of international drug control, the General Assembly entrusted UNODC with the mandate to publish "comprehensive and balanced information about the world drug problem" in 1998. UNODC has published such assessments annually since 1999. 

This year, the Report has been reworked into a one-volume format. The detailed seizures tables which were previously presented in the second section of Volume II under the title "Seizures," are now available on UNODC s website. A PDF file containing the detailed seizure tables is available for review and downloading at www.unodc.org/unodc/en/world drug report.html (the same location as the Report). The detailed seizure tables are also available on CD by request. CDs can be ordered via the following email address RAS unodc.org... 

As in previous years, the Report is based on data obtained primarily from the Annual Reports Questionnaire (ARQ) sent by Governments to UNODC in 2006, supplemented by other sources when necessary and where available. Two of the main limitations herein are (i) that ARQ reporting is not systematic enough, both in terms of number of countries responding and of content, and (ii) that most countries lack the adequate monitoring systems required to produce reliable, comprehensive and internationally comparable data. National monitoring systems are, however, improving and UNODC has contributed to this process. 

Electronic copies of the World Drug Report 2007 report can be accessed via the UNODC website at www.unodc.org. Comments and feedback on the report can be sent to worlddrugreport unodc.org. 

ICMP UNODC Global Illicit Crop Monitoring Programme... 

Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime... 

Most of the world s drug markets start with the farmer. Unlike other crops, however, the cultivation of opium poppy, coca leaf and cannabis take place under threat of eradication, and so the location and the number of hectares tilled vary substantially from year to year. UNODC, in cooperation with the relevant national authorities, conducts drug crop monitoring surveys in all of the worlds major opium poppy and coca producing countries. Changes in the number and location of hectares under cultivation, as well as crop yields, can thus be tracked with some precision. 

As discussed in last year s World Drug Report, it is impossible to accurately estimate the location and total number of hectares under cannabis, because it is grown in at least 172 countries, often in small plots by the users themselves. The one country where reliable estimates are available is Morocco, the source of about 70 per cent of the hashish consumed in Europe. UNODC and the Government of Morocco have been monitoring large-scale hashish production since 2003. Based on these surveys, cannabis cultivation in Morocco has declined in recent years, from a peak of 134,000 hectares in 2003 to just 76,400 hectares in 2005. Outside Morocco, there have been few national or regional studies of the extent of cannabis cultivation. 

The production of cannabis resin (also known as hashish) is concentrated in North Africa (Morocco) and in the South-West Asia/Middle East region, particularly in Afghanistan and Pakistan. UNODC surveys conducted in collaboration with the Moroccan authorities revealed a fall in the area of cannabis resin cultivation in that country in recent years, from a peak of 134,000 ha in 2003 to 76,400 ha in 2005. Resin production declined even more strongly, from 3,070 mt in 2003 to 1,070 mt by 2005. Most of this production is consumed in Europe. 

Main trafficking routes Other trafficking routes Stimulants seizures reported to UNODC (2001-2005)... 

The largest cocaine seizures, as reflected in the UNODC Individual Drug Seizure database, involve multiple tons of the drug and are worth tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars. Such shipments are clearly beyond the scope of small networks of individual traffickers. The share of large seizures in national seizure totals highlight the fact that, while smaller scale trafficking does take place, the backbone of the market remains in the hands of more sophisticated operators. For example, in 2004, more than 25 per cent of the cocaine seized in Honduras came from just one maritime seizure, while 42 per cent of that seized in Nicaragua came from two major seizures on the Atlantic Coast. 

Member States reported 1.5 million drug seizure cases to UNODC... 

Member States reported 1.5 million drug seizure cases to UNODC for the year 2005, 21 per cent more than a year earlier. Some of the increase was due to improved reporting. One hundred and twelve countries provided detailed statistics on seizure cases in 2005, up from 95 countries in 2004. If only the data of those countries that reported in both 2004 and 2005 is considered, the increase amounts to 10 percent. 

Information on the quantities of drugs seized was provided by 118 countries for the year 2005 in reply to UNODC s Annual Reports Questionnaire. Supplementing ARQ data with information obtained from other sources1, UNODC has compiled data and information from 165 countries and territories. This forms the basis for the analysis which follows. 

Government reports, HONLEA reports, UNODC Field Offices, Drug Abuse Information Network for Asia and the Pacific (DAINAP), ICPO/Interpol, World Customs Organisation (WCO), CICAD, EMCDDA, United States Department of State, International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, etc. 

This continues to be a far lower level than tobacco use (28 %). UNODC s estimate of the global number of problem drug users also remains unchanged at around 25 million people or 0.6% of the global population age 15-64. 

UNODC s estimate of the global level of cocaine use increased slightly to 14 million persons or 0.3 per cent of the global population. Continued increases in South America, Africa and Europe were partially offset by decreases reported from North America. UNODC also compiles data based on use trends as perceived by experts. Results from these data are not always identical... 

The demand for drug abuse treatment is an important indicator for assessing the world drug situation because it reveals the drugs which place the largest burden on national health systems. Member States reported a total of 4.5 million people under treatment for drug abuse to UNODC. Of the 25 million people (0.6% of the world s population age 15-65) estimated to be heavily... 

Fig. 11 UNODC estimates of illicit drug use, late 1990s to 2005/2006...

Sources UNODC, Government reports, EMCDDA, CICAD, local studies. 

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