| Fighting drugs |
“The fight against drugs is far from over.”
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The World Drug Report released by the United Nation’s Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) does not present a world getting the better of the battle against the production, trafficking and use of illicit drugs in the world. It has noted that the production and use of synthetic drugs is increasing in developing countries though the global markets for cocaine, canabis and opiates are steady or declining. Opium and cannabis production in Afghanistan and South America has declined, but synthetic drugs have grown from the scale of a cottage industry to big business, especially in South-East Asia. While 41 pc of the world’s cocaine is being seized, only one-fifth of opiates are intercepted. Drug trafficking has hit Iran and Pakistan the most, and most of the seizures are made there. But the scary fact is that even after all the claims of fall in production and increasing seizures and interruption, drugs pose the most serious combined threat to public health, security and the economy of the world.
It is a $ 600-800 billion a year business that finances terrorism, boosts arms trade, promotes economic crimes like money laundering and increases other crimes involving the drug mafia. The mafia controls society and politics at many levels in many places. Another class of crimes, resulting from the use of drugs, is a also a source of major concern. Crime and corruption are cited as an argument by some to lift controls on drugs, but as UNODC Director Antonio Costa notes, legalisation will create a drug epidemic which will extensivley endanger public health. As it is, it is a serious health hazard and is a major contributing factor in the spread of AIDS . The impact is greater because students and youth are more affected than others.
India has the difficult position of proximity to the Golden Crescent and the Golden Triangle on either side. It is a major a transit route for drug trade. Insurgents and terrorists are also involved in it. Illegal cultivation of opium is said to be increasing in states like Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir. Rising drug abuse is reported from urban centres. Authorities in charge of law enforcement should redouble their efforts to deal with the problem. Prevention is as important as, perhaps more important than, correction. Therefore creating public awareness, especially among the young people, about the dangers of drug abuse is very important. Social organisations have a major role in this.
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