Summary of Press Briefings on the 49th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs

VIENNA, 13 March 2006 - On the opening day of the 49th session of the commission on Narcotic Drugs, UNIS Vienna organized two consecutive press briefings which were chaired by the UNIS Vienna Director, Nasra Hassan.

At the firs t briefing the Executive Director of UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Antonio Maria Costa spoke alongside the Chairperson of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) Ambassador Györgyi Zanathy, Permanent Representative of Hungary and Minister Soubanh Srithirath, the Chairman of Laos' National Committee for Drug Control and Supervision.

Mr. Costa reiterated what he had told the CND opening session that the world drug problem had been contained. He explained to the journalists that this meant supply and demand had been contained worldwide. There had been a decline in the cultivation of cocaine and heroin and to some extent it was also possible to say that synthetic drugs had been contained too.

Mr. Costa said that the CND would be considering how to bring to a close the decade of drug control initiated at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on drugs in 1998. He also mentioned that the theme of the CND was alternative development which he outlined was a very powerful tool in tackling the cultivation of illicit drugs. However it was important that Governments were encouraged to assist countries to replace illicit activities with licit ones.

Mr. Costa also spoke of the need for UNODC to reform itself, in line with the Secretary General's reform proposals outlined last week. He said the office had reached a fork in the road and needed to reposition itself.

The Chairman of Laos' National Committee for Drug Control and Supervision, Minister Soubanh Srithirath spoke of his country's success in eliminating opium poppy cultivation. He said they have achieved their goal but there are still problems relating to drugs in Laos, particularly opium addiction. They needed assistance to help people in the 2000 villages which had given up opium cultivation to reintegrate into society and establish a new way of life. Minister Srithirath also spoke of the need to tackle the issue of synthetic drugs which were cheaper than opium and cocaine.

The CND Chairperson, Ambassador Györgyi Zanathy, Permanent Representative of Hungary, said there had been an atmosphere of cooperation in preparing for the 49th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and nine resolutions had already been presented. Ambassador Zanathy highlighted three agenda items of major importance: the follow-up to UNGASS on drugs; strengthening the drug programme of UNODC and the thematic debate on alternative development.

A question was raised about licit drug control, and what progress had been made in this area since the last CND session. Ambassador Zanathy responded that a further draft resolution had been tabled on this issue for the current session. Mr. Costa said that there had been little progress in controlling the growing abuse of licit drugs which was becoming more serious particularly in Europe and North America. In France, for instance, data had indicated that one-third of car accidents were caused by the abuse of licit drugs. The problem of licit drug abuse, he said, deserved more attention.

Asked for his opinion on the drug situation in Bolivia following the election of President Morales, Mr. Costa said a scheduled meeting between himself and the President had had to be postponed. Some statements attributed to him were worrisome, Mr. Costa said, but he looked forward to discussing the issues with all the three major coca-producing countries, two of which were having elections soon.

Minister Srithirath responded to a question on the risk of a relapse into opium cultivation because of massive poverty saying he was optimistic that the country could stay free of drugs. However there was still a risk, especially in remote areas which were inaccessible for local officials. He said he had discussed with UNODC how to organize regional surveys to assess the situation in future.

For the second briefing on methamphetamine and the urgency of international action against the rapid spread of its production, trafficking, and abuse Mr. Costa was joined by Richard Baum from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Thomas Schweich of the US State Department, Bureau of In ternational Narcotics   and Law Enforcement Affairs and Ambassador Gregory L. Schulte of the US Mission to International Organizations in Vienna.

Richard Baum from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy outlined the growing problem of the illicit use of synthetic drugs, which in the case of the United States was methamphetamine. Mr. Baum said methamphetamine use has spread eastwards across the United States and US law enforcement agencies had increased their efforts both domestically and internationally to stem the flow of methamphetamine and the precursors that are used to produce it. Laboratory seizures had decreased where precursors had been more strictly controlled he said.

Methamphetamine production and abuse exacted a huge toll on families and especially children, he said, who risked being exposed to a variety of toxic and noxious substances. Children of methamphetamine users were also at risk because of their parents' abuse problem. He explained how while under the influence of methamphetamine parents couldn't care for themselves let alone their children and when a binge ends they slept for days at a time leaving the children to care for themselves.

Thomas Schweich of the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs in the US State Department warned that amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) are a greater worldwide threat than either cocaine or heroin. According to UNODC's latest statistics 34 million people worldwide abuse ATS, which is more than the combined number of heroin and cocaine users. He said preventing the diversion of the precursor chemicals especially pseudoephedrine and ephedrine which could be easily extracted from legitimate pharmaceutical products, was essential to curbing methamphetamine production.

Ambassador Gregory L. Schulte of the US Mission to International Organizations in Vienna told the briefing that methamphetamine was a global threat which needed a global response with the United Nations playing a central role. He explained that the United States was tabling a resolution in the Commission which called for increased international cooperation and information sharing. The US wanted the establishment of a database of licit requirements of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and PMK under the auspices of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). Such a database would, he said, allow countries to identify potential diversion of licit chemicals by understanding legitimate requirements compared to actual imports of the substances.

Mr. Costa emphasized that societies had the level of addiction that they deserve. He said in some countries notably Australia and the United States of America there had been significant progress tackling the problem of ATS such as dismantling laboratories, making arrests and seizures and tackling demand for treatment for ATS drug abuse. However he compared the number of laboratories destroyed in the US in the last four years, 50,000, compared to 500 in the same period in Europe and 50 in China. He said commitment varied and they was a need to engage in law enforcement as ATS were still the public enemy number one as he had said in 2003.

Responding to a question Mr. Costa said it was not the first time there had been a resolution on this issue at CND. Mr. Baum explained that the importance of international cooperation had increased over time and it was a high priority for his government to improve levels of cooperation.

Mr. Costa explained that while it was possible to monitor and quantify the cultivation of opium and cannabis there was no similar starting point for ATS hence it was much trickier to monitor production.

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