This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/27/world/americas/opium-production-on-the-rise-worldwide-un-reports.html

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Opium Production on the Rise Worldwide, U.N. Reports Opium Production on the Rise Worldwide, U.N. Reports
(about 9 hours later)
UNITED NATIONS — Illegal opium cultivation occupies more land worldwide than ever before, according to the United Nations, largely because of a surge over the last year in Afghanistan, the world’s dominant opium producer. UNITED NATIONS — Illegal opium cultivation occupies more land worldwide than ever before, according to the United Nations, largely because of a surge over the last year in Afghanistan, the dominant opium producer.
The annual World Drug Report, released Thursday, found that nearly 741,000 acres worldwide were occupied by opium-producing poppy fields, which is the largest area devoted to the farming of the contraband crop since 1998, when estimates were first available. Afghanistan’s poppy fields alone expanded by 36 percent between 2012 and 2013, taking up 516,000 acres. Myanmar, too, stepped up opium production; nearly 143,000 acres were devoted to poppy cultivation there. The annual World Drug Report, released Thursday, found that nearly 741,000 acres worldwide were occupied by opium-producing poppy fields, the largest area devoted to the farming of the crop since 1998, when estimates were first available. Afghanistan’s poppy fields alone expanded by 36 percent from 2012 to 2013, taking up 516,000 acres. Myanmar, too, stepped up opium production; nearly 143,000 acres were devoted to poppy cultivation there.
The report, released on Thursday in Vienna, comes at a time of growing scrutiny on the global treaties that prohibit the use and trade of opium, heroin, cocaine and the coca leaf and which form the basis for the militarized war on drugs. Bolivia withdrew from the 1961 U.N. Convention on Narcotic Drugs to protest the ban on what they called an indigenous tradition of chewing coca leaves. Uruguay also last year became the first country in the world to establish a regulated legal market for marijuana. The report, released on Thursday in Vienna, comes at a time of growing scrutiny of on the global treaties that prohibit the use and trade of opium, heroin, cocaine and the coca leaf and that underlie the militarized war on drugs. Bolivia briefly withdrew from the 1961 United Nations Convention on Narcotic Drugs to protest the ban on an indigenous tradition of chewing coca leaves, signing on to it again last year after winning an exception for leaf consumption. Last year, Uruguay also became the first country to establish a regulated legal market for marijuana.
Countries pummeled by drug violence, especially in Latin America, are increasingly debating alternatives to the war on drugs. Countries pummeled by drug violence, especially in Latin America, are increasingly debating alternatives to the war on drugs. Efforts to re-examine the global treaties that criminalize many drugs came up at a United Nations summit in March, and are likely to be the subject of intense negotiations in the prelude to a special session of the General Assembly in 2016.
The U.N. report found that methamphetamine seizures doubled in the period between 2010 and 2012, in particular in the United States and Mexico. And new psychoactive substances popped up in the global market, many of them available online on what the report called the “dark net,” meaning that they were difficult to trace. Cocaine production has steadily declined for the last 6 years. Russia and the United States, despite their deep disagreements on many issues, are largely on the same side when it comes to banning drugs. Along with most Middle Eastern countries, including Iran, which has lately come under intense criticism for imposing the death penalty for drug-related crimes, they favor maintaining strict criminal prohibitions on them.
Cannabis use patterns stumped the authors of the report. Worldwide, cannabis use seems to have decreased, the report said, particularly in Europe, though more Americans are using it. The United Nations report found that methamphetamine seizures doubled from 2010 to 2012, in particular in the United States and Mexico. And new psychoactive substances popped up in the global market, many of them available online on what the report called the “dark net,” making them difficult to trace. Cocaine production has steadily declined for the past six years.
As for Afghan opium, it is increasingly reaching European markets through Pakistan and the countries of the Middle East, with increased law enforcement along the traditional Balkan route. Cannabis use patterns stumped the authors of the report. Worldwide, cannabis use seems to have decreased, the report said, particularly in Europe, though more Americans are using it and seeking treatment for it. The report said it was too early to gauge the impact of state laws to legalize some uses of cannabis.
The report pointed to other shifts as well. Stimulants, like methamphetamines, are increasingly produced in the West, close to the highest demand. So, too, cannabis is increasingly grown in countries where its consumers live.
“All in all, the report raises serious questions about the suitability of the international regime in its current form to deal with the market within the 21st century,” said David Bewley-Taylor, director of the Global Drug Policy Observatory at Swansea University in Britain.