NCJ Number
209810
Date Published
2005
Length
109 pages
Annotation
Major sections of this 2004 Report of the International Narcotics Control Board address the integration of supply and demand reduction strategies, the operation of the international drug control system, and analysis of the world situation regarding drug supplies and demand.
Abstract
Chapter I analyzes the interaction between drug supply and demand, emphasizing the need for a balanced and integrated approach that addresses both facets of the drug trade. It notes that governments' tendencies to focus on the suppression of supply may produce some dramatic results temporarily with displays of large drug seizures, but over the long term under persistent demand, new sources of drugs will emerge to meet that demand. Sustained preventive intervention is required to reduce demand. Chapter II presents a review of the International Narcotics Control Board's consultations with Afghanistan pursuant to article 14 of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1981. The country's widespread drug problem has become a severe threat to this new democracy, as well as the stability and economic recovery of the country as a whole. The government has adopted a national drug control strategy aimed at eliminating the cultivation of illicit crops and the illicit production of and trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, and precursors within a 10-year period. International efforts are required to promote and achieve this objective. Other issues addressed in chapter II are ensuring the availability of drugs for medical purposes and follow-up missions of the Board undertaken in 2001. In the analysis of the world situation in chapter III, drug supply and demand are surveyed for countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.