Chapter I Introduction
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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1. Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking at Global Level. a. Drug Abuse and its impact to Health. In the year 2013 the estimated number of drug taking people is 246 million (5.2% of the world population between 15 – 64 years), or 1 out of 20 from this age group has consumed drugs. There was an increase of 3 million drug abusers, but tends to be stable. It is estimated that 1 among 10 of them is a problematic drug abuser; or in other words, 27 million (0.6% of of the world population in the age group 15-64 years) are drug abusers with problems. So half the number of this group (12.19 million) are injection drug users (IDU), and the estimation is that 165 million have HIV. The mortality rate related to drug abuse (approx 187,100) is stable compared to the previous year. The abuse of opiates (heroin and opium) remains stable, while cannabis and medical opioids continue to escalate. Consumption of ATS, especially Methamphetamine occurs mainly in South-East Asia. Cannabis is frequently consumed in prisons, and the number ofheroin users among the inmates is higher than cocaine, amphetamines or “ecstasy”. NPS are sold as an alternative of drugs that have similar effects as international controlled substances.NPS have increased to 500 including mephedrone. Consumption of cannabis, cocaine and amphetamines among males is higher than amongfemales. However, the prevalence rate of HIV among female injection drug users has a higher rate. The number of new HIV cases among injection drug users has a decrease of 10%, from approx 110,000 in 2010 to 98,000 in 2013. b. Drug Supply and Market. The production of hashish remains limited only to North Africa, Central and South-West Asia, while cannabis is produced in most of the countries in the world. South America is the largest producer of coca, while South-West Asia (Afghanistan) and South-East Asia (Laos and Myanmar) are the largest producers of opium poppy. Production of ATS is spread all over the world. The global prevalence of opoid consumption (0.7% among the group of adult population, or 43,4 million) and abuse of opiates (0.4% or 16,5 million) remain stable. In 2014 the global production of opium reached 7,554 tons; but illegal heroin and morphine decreased 6.4% from 2012 to 2013. Coca production decreased in 2013, and the annual prevalence of cocaine abuse (0.4% of the global adult population) decreased in Central and West Europe, and North America. Journal of Data on the Prevention and Eradication of Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (P4GN) 1 Year 2015 Edition 2016 The abuse of cannabis maintains to increase, in particular an extremely high increase occurred in West and Central Africa, West and Central Europe, and Oceania, including North America. Europe remains the largest market of hashish. However, its consumption mainly occurs in some particular countries. The consumption of cannabis is evenly spread in European countries. The market of hashish inWest and Central Europe was replaced by cannabis. Improvement in the techniques of planting and the use of genetically selected seedlings pushed a potential increase in the harvest of cannabis, and detected an increase in THC content (Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol) in the last decade. As a result, the potential increase in the cannabis harvest that also affects a serious impact to health. However, seizures of cannabis and hashish increased globally in 2013. The global market of synthetic drugs is still dominated by methamphetamines, and is increasingly expanding to East and South-East Asia. The consumption of crystal meth increased in some parts of Europe and North America. An almost two-fold escalation of ATS seizures has occurred since 2009 to 144 tons in 2011 and 2012. Seizures remain relatively highin 2013. Data on seizures reveal that the global market of methamphetamines and amphetamines surpass the market of ecstasy. The largest markets of ecstasy is located in East Asia, South-East Asia and Oceania, although seizures of ecstasy in these regions decreased in 2013. The large number and multiple types of NPS circulating in the market makes it not easy to detect its prevalence of abuse. This condition also illustrates how great the challenge is in regulating these substances and their impact to health. Until December 2014, 96 countries and regions have reported 541 types of NPS through UNOC Early Warnng Advisory. Synthetic cannabinoid maintains the most reported NPS in 2014 (39%), followed by phenetylamines (18%) and synthetic cathinones (15%). c. Alternative Development. Illegal cultivation is motivated by a specific combination of opportunity and vulnerability. All illegal narcotic crops tend to attract farmers as they can return the capital much faster than other crops. Hence, they can provide the short time economic needs of the farmers for survival. Illicit cultivationis likely done in remote and isolated areas, where control is hardly implemented with obscure rights of the land, lack of infrastructure, excessive poverty and crimes, a region where several international institutions are likely to conduct their operations. Journal of Data on the Prevention and Eradication of Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (P4GN) 2 Year 2015 Edition 2016 Alternative development is an approach in aiming at alleviating and eventually removing the abovesaid vulnerability that ends in illicit cultivation. The UN 20th General Assembly Special Session in 1998 defines the process of alternative development as a process to prevent and eliminate illicit cultivation in crops “through the approach of village development that is specifically designed in the context of national growth and nation building in countries that proclaim the fight against drugs, by observing the socio-cultural characteristics of a targeted group or community. Priority of Alternative Development is given to all producing countries of coca and opium, also producing countries of cannabis, including countries of minor opium production, located in South America, Central Americ, Caribia, Asia and Africa. 2. Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking at Regional Level. Based on available data, seizures of shabu tablets and crystal shabu increased in the regions of S.E. Asia and East Asia in 2008 and 2013. Seizures of crystal shabu escalated almost two-fold while crystal shabu eight times the total in the year 2013. In 2013 crystal shabu placed the highest in rank in Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines and Republoic of Korea. It places the second in rank in Cina, Singapore and Vietnam. Shabu tablet is the first in rank in Cambodia, Laos People’s Democratic Republic, (PDR) and Thailand, and the second in rank in Cina and Vietnam. East Asia, S.E. Asia and Oceania are estimated to have the largest market for ATS users in the world. An estimation issued by UNODC iterates that East Asia, SE.Asia and Oceania combined have the largest number of ATS users in the world. (not included ecstasy) totaling to almost 9.5 million, and 3.9 million ecstasy users. A rapid escalation of ATS seizures were reported in East and S.E. Asia and the shabu seizures increased almost four times from 11 tons in 2008 to nearly 42 tons in 2013. In the same period ecstasy seizures maintained under 1 ton every year in the region, with exception in 2012, when ecstasy seizures increased to approx 2 tons. Seizures of amphetamines in the region were stable, less than 1 ton for several years, but increased to over 2 tons in 2011 and 2013. On the whole, when combined, amphetamines and ecstasy in said regions have contributed a small part in the seizures reported in East and S.E. Asia every year, while shabu contributes 85% of seizures in the same regions reported every year since 2008. Journal of Data on the Prevention and Eradication of Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (P4GN) 3 Year 2015 Edition 2016 Several countries in the East and S.E. Asia regions were reported to have been producing crystal shabu. In 2013 nearly 390 methamphetamine laboratories were disclosed in Cina, the majority of these laboratories produced crystal shabu. The large number of seizures of ecstasy in East and S.E. Asia and Oceania indicates that this was a result ofthe high escalation in seizures of ecstasy conducted in Indonesia, from 0.3 ton in 2011 to 1.3 tons in 2012, which was the largest seizure of ecstasy in the world that year. Seizures in Cina have decreased from 0.3 ton in 2009 to 0.1 ton in 2013. Together, countries in the region have contributed less than 0.1 ton of ecstasy seizures every year. In Singapore almost all seizures of ecstasy in 2012 and 2013 and nearly two-third of ecstasy seized in 2011 were reported being traded through Malaysia. As is the case at global level, the number of NPS reported in East and S.E. Asia and Oceania increased significantly, from 34 in 2009 to 137 substances in 2014 (November). 3. Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking at National Level. Based on a study by BNN in cooperation with Health Research Center, University of Indonesia entitled National Survey on Drug Abuse Prevalence among Households the drug abuse prevalence in Indonesia has reached 2.18%, or approx 3.8 to 4.1 million people have ever consumed drugs in the past year (current users) in the age group of 10-59 years. The most consumed drug in the past year remains cannabis. Approx. 1 of 5 drug abusers maintains to take cannabis (25%), followed by shabu (12%), ecstasy (5%), and tramadol (5%). One out of 8 drug abusers consumes shabu while ecstasy less frequently, i.e. 1 out of 20. Less than 4% consume other drugs.