NCJ Number
206057
Date Published
2004
Length
63 pages
Annotation
This report uses charts and maps, along with narrative information, to document trends in the use of various illegal drugs worldwide, by continent, and by selected countries up through 2003.
Abstract
This report indicates that worldwide less than 5 percent of youth and adults use illegal drugs of any type; approximately 1/2 percent use heroin or cocaine, and nearly 30 percent smoke tobacco. There has been a long-term decline in opiate production/consumption, with an 80-percent reduction since the start of the 20th century. Opium production in Southeast Asia declined by more than 50 percent between 1990 and 2003. The exception to the declining trend in opium production has been Afghanistan, where further increases in production are predicted for 2004. Global cocaine production decreased by 30 percent between 1999 and 2003, mainly due to strengthened control efforts in Colombia. Surveys of U.S. students indicate a 23-percent decline in cocaine use between 1999 and 2003; however, cocaine use has increased in South America and Europe; the peak may have been reached in some West European countries. The global production of cannabis has apparently increased over the last decade, bringing it back to the levels of the late 1980's. Trend data indicate ongoing increases in Europe, South America, Africa, and in a number of Asian countries. In contrast, the market seems to have stabilized in North America, Oceania, and some countries of Southeast Asia. The global production and consumption of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) has increased over the last decade. Ecstasy use continued to increase in several developing countries, but it stabilized in several West European countries and declined in the United States and Canada in 2002/2003. Governments throughout the world have committed themselves to the design and implementation of multilateral drug control systems. the emphasis has been on a balanced approach to the problem, shared responsibility, a society-wide approach, a context of sustainable development, an integrated approach, and a dynamic approach.