NCJ Number
168067
Date Published
1997
Length
51 pages
Annotation
This report provides information on the extent of the opium and heroin production threat in Southwest Asia, Russia, and the Central Asian Republic and the immediate threat to the United States; efforts by the United States to address this threat; and the obstacles to counternarcotics strategies and programs in these regions.
Abstract
For the purposes of this report, Southwest Asia includes Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Iran. The Central Asian Republics are Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The review shows that despite a significant increase in Southwest Asian opium poppy cultivation and production from 1987 to 1996, Southwest Asian heroin is not currently a major threat to the United States, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Russia and the Central Asian Republics of the former Soviet Union have not been classified as major opium producers, but Southwest Asian opium and heroin trafficking routes have expanded in the region. Except for Pakistan, the United States has provided limited drug control assistance to Southwest Asia, Russia, and the Central Asian Republics. The primary obstacles to drug control efforts are the lack of government control of opium poppy cultivation areas in Southwest Asia and the lack of resources and institutional capability in Russia and the Central Asian Republic. India's inability to control diversion of its licit opium crop continues to be a drug control concern, according to the Department of State and the Drug Enforcement Administration. 4 figures