Report of the International Narcotics Control Board for 2002

E/INCB/2002/1
UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATION
Sales No. E.03.XI.1
ISBN 92-1-148154-6
ISSN 0257-3717

Foreword

Chapter

1. Illicit drugs and economic development (PDF)
   1. Short-term gains through illicit drug production and trafficking
   2. Estimate of income generated through illicit drug production and trafficking
   3. Illicit drug production prevents long-term economic growth
   4. Destabilization of the state
   5. Destabilization of the economy.
   6. Destabilization of civil society
   7. Policy implications
   8. Conclusions
      
      
2. Operation of the international drug control system (PDF)
   1. Status of adherence to the international drug control treaties
   2. Cooperation with Governments
   3. Prevention of diversion into the illicit traffic
   4. Control measures
   5. Scope of control
   6. Ensuring the availability of drugs for medical purposes
   7. Control of cannabis
   8. Measures to ensure the implementation of the 1961 Convention
      
      
3. Analysis of the world situation (PDF)
   1. Africa
   2. Americas

      Central America and the Caribbean

      North America

      South America

   3. Asia

      East and South-East Asia.

      South Asia.

      West Asia

   4. Europe
   5. Oceania

Notes (PDF)

Annexes (PDF)

1. Regional groupings used in the report of the International Narcotics Control Board for 2002
2. Current membership of the International Narcotics Control Board

EXPLANATORY NOTES

The following abbreviations have been used in this report:

 
ACCORD ASEAN and China Cooperative Operations in Response to Dangerous Drugs ADD 
attention deficit disorder AIDS acquired immunodeficiency syndrome ASEAN Association 
of South-East Asian Nations CICAD Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission 
CIS Commonwealth of Independent States ESAAMLG Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money 
Laundering Group Europol European Police Office GAFISUD Financial Action Task 
Force of South America against Money Laundering GCC Cooperation Council for the 
Arab States of the Gulf GDP gross domestic product GHB gamma-hydroxybutyric acid 
HIV human immunodeficiency virus Interpol International Criminal Police Organization 
IPPA International Partnership against AIDS in Africa LSD lysergic acid diethylamide 
MDMA methylenedioxymethamphetamine MERCOSUR Common Market of the Southern Cone 
NDLEA National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (Nigeria) NEPAD New Partnership for 
Africa’s Development NIDA National Institute on Drug Abuse (United States of America) 
OAS Organization of American States OAU Organization of African Unity PMMA paramethoxymethylamphetamine 
SAARC South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation SADC Southern African Development 
Community SECI Southeast European Cooperative Initiative SIMCI Integrated System 
for Illicit Crop Monitoring (Colombia) THC tetrahydrocannabinol UNAIDS Joint United 
Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS UNDCP United Nations International Drug Control 
Programme WHO World Health Organization

The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country,territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Countries and areas are referred to by the names that were in official use at the time the relevant data were collected.

Foreword

The world drug problem is often seen primarily as a social problem. That is understandable, for the insidious long-term effects of chronic drug abuse and its impact on the drug abuser, the family, the community and society are obvious. Yet there are other aspects of the drug problem that are common throughout the world. In the present report, the International Narcotics Control Board reviews the economic consequences of illicit crop cultivation and illicit drug trade. The focus of its review on the impact of the illicit drug trade is economic development, which is crucial to sustainable development and human development.

The review shows that drug trafficking does not contribute to economic growth and prosperity. Even illicit crop cultivation and illicit drug production, though they are labour-intensive, do not generate much additional employment. In the late 1980s, only 3 per cent of the combined rural population of Bolivia and Peru was engaged in illicit drug production. At the end of the 1990s, the situation was approximately the same in Afghanistan and Colombia.

Illicit crop growers in developing countries earn the equivalent of only 1 per cent of the money that is ultimately spent by drug abusers on maintaining their drug habits. The remaining 99 per cent of the global illicit drug income is earned by drug trafficking groups operating at various other points along the drug trafficking chain. Thus, the overwhelming share of the profits made from illicit drug trafficking are made in the countries where the end products are sold and abused rather than in the countries where the illicit crops are grown.

The review in the present report shows that illicit drug production actually prevents long-term economic growth. Huge proceeds from illicit drugs lead to conspicuous consumption, promote inflation, destroy production capacity and result in negative economic growth. Whenever illicit crop cultivation and drug trafficking become significant components of the national economy, violent crimes increase and the rule of law is compromised. The emergence of a drug economy often brings about the destabilization of the state and the weakening of the political system through corruption. The illicit drug economy distorts the investment climate and destroys the basis of sound macroeconomic decision-making. It increases the inflow of illicit profits, fostering lower economic growth and leading to overvalued exchange rates.

Afghanistan is an obvious example. Massive increases in opium production in the early 1990s only helped to fuel civil wars and accelerated the destabilization of the country. The illicit drug trade clearly failed to have any positive impact on the country’s overall social and economic development. The same is true for other countries. The Board has found no indications that the expansion of illicit crop cultivation leads to the improvement of any broader development indicator at the national level.

It is therefore necessary for the international community to offer assistance in drug control to countries in which illicit drugs thrive and sufficient resources are not available to combat drug-related problems. That assistance should also promote economic development.

The Board continues to serve the international community in line with its mandate. Some distractions, however, come from groups that advocate legalization or decriminalization of drug offences, and others come from groups that favour a crusade focusing only on “harm minimization” or “harm reduction”. Contrary to all available evidence, such lobbyists have persisted in proclaiming that there are safe ways to abuse drugs.

Supporters of such legalization pursue their goals through aggressive, wellfunded campaigns and with missionary zeal. Their arguments, however, do not reflect the truth. The truth is that there are no safe ways to abuse drugs. The truth is that drug abuse creates problems for the drug abusers, for their immediate environment and, ultimately, for society as a whole. Most people are all too familiar with the pain experienced by the family members of a drug addict and with the disintegration of families as a result of drug abuse. And many people are aware of the loss of productivity that occurs in companies whose employees abuse drugs.

The sight of unkempt drug abusers on street corners and in train stations, begging for money to finance their drug habits, cannot be ignored by responsible Governments. States have a moral and legal responsibility to protect drug abusers from further self-destruction. States should not give up and allow advocates of legalization to take control of their national drug policies. Governments should not be intimidated by a vocal minority that wants to legalize illicit drug use. Governments must respect the view of the majority of lawful citizens; and those citizens are against illicit drug use.

Persons in favour of legalizing illicit drug use argue that drug abusers should not have their basic rights violated; however, it does not seem to have occurred to those persons that drug abusers themselves violate the basic rights of their own family members and society. Families and society also have rights that should be respected and upheld.

The work of the Board can only be accomplished and its report can only be complete if national drug regulatory and law enforcement authorities provide it with accurate and complete data on which it bases its analysis. The Board commends States that have facilitated its task by furnishing complete and accurate data to it in a timely manner. The Board seeks close cooperation with all States in its efforts to serve the international community better.

Philip O. Emafo
President of the International Narcotics Control Board