Global Drug Production Stabilizes: U.N.

World production of drugs such as heroin and cocaine has shown signs of stabilization and even decline, according to a U.N. report Monday.

Production is now limited to fewer countries, with Afghanistan and Myanmar together accounting for about 90 percent of global illicit opium production and Columbia alone responsible for two- thirds of global coca leaf production, the report said.

Releasing the World Drug Report for 2000, the U.N. Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (ODCCP) said the main consumer markets have stabilized or even declined in numbers, with a 70 percent fall of cocaine use in the United States over the 1985- 1999 period, compared to a 40 percent decrease in overall drug use.

However, the report said, more than 130 countries still reported drug abuse problems, with the 1990s seeing the most significant increase in consumption of amphetamine-type stimulants such as methamphetamine and Ecstasy.

ODCCP chief Pino Arlacchi hoped that the world community will focus on a pragmatic and long-term approach to reducing the supply of and demand for illicit drugs.

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