International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking

Drug production, trafficking and abuse is one of the problems that has affected mental, physical and moral health of humans for the past decades. For this reason, on December 7, 1987, the UN General Assembly decided to declare June 26 as the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking to raise public awareness and concern over this catastrophic phenomenon. We have prepared a special program in this regard.

According to a report released by the UN, nearly 250 million people consume narcotics in the world. Approximately 5.29 million people or 0.6% of the world population have been addicted to these substances. The report shows that a majority of drug users are men. The usage of non-therapeutic and sedative drug is also prevalent among women. Women may start taking drugs later than men, but once they start, they consume cannabis, cocaine and other narcotics faster than men, and they also experience more irregular drug use.

A report released by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) indicates that non-therapeutic consumption of drugs poses a serious threat to public health and law enforcement throughout the world. Chemical drugs are responsible for the most harm in the world and 76% of deaths stem from disorderly drug consumption. For example, tramadol is a drug for healing moderate to severe pains and it has caused increasing concern in parts of Africa and Asia and traffickers produce and distribute them illegally at markets causing serious threat for human health and hygiene.

The chemical narcotics seized in 2016 amounted to 87 tons, and the same volume of heroin was discovered in the same year. The seizure of chemical narcotics- mainly tramadol in West, Central and North Africa – was equal to 87% of global seizure in 2016. Furthermore, the global cocaine production reached its climax of around 1410 tons in 2016. Most of the world's cocaine comes from Colombia, while the report also shows that Africa and Asia are increasingly considered as centers of cocaine smuggling and use.

From 2016 to 2017, opium production increased by 65%, the highest ever estimated by the UN since the start of monitoring the global production of opium at the beginning of the 21st century. UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov says: "The findings of the World Drug Report this year show that drug markets are expanding, and cocaine and opium production have broken the record, which reflects numerous challenges on multiple fronts."

The international community has paid special attention to the problem of illicit drugs since the beginning of the twentieth century and ratified several conventions in a bid to stop the abuse of these substances. But the ample profits of this devastating business have hindered these efforts. It is estimated that one third to one-fifth of revenues by organized criminal groups around the world is earned from the sale of drugs. Cyberspace has also provided new opportunities for drug traffickers, as well as the Dark net, which has provided consumers with an opportunity to anonymously purchase drugs through a digital currency payment such as Bitcoin. Although drug trafficking in Dark net is still insignificant, according to a study, drug trafficking had an annual increase of 50% in September 2013- January 2016. Drug purchasers are mainly digital consumers of cannabis, ecstasy, cocaine and psychotropic substances.

Drug trafficking is the third most profitable business in the world after arms and oil trade. The drug market has more than 200 million customers with an annual turnover of billions of dollars. According to experts, the amount of money made through drug trafficking amounts to over $1 trillion a year, which enters the global banking system. Many banks are also keen on participating in this process because of the gargantuan profits they make from this turnover.

The economic attitude toward drug trafficking has created a variety of roles for different countries. "Producer countries", "transit countries", "consumer" countries, and "investor countries" are among the most important roles that have involved countries in this dirty current willingly or unwillingly. For instance, the Islamic Republic of Iran has unwillingly been involved on the transit route of narcotics. This calamity has been harmful for Iran's economy, has deprived some part of manpower from legal economic activities and endangered the life of the youths especially indigenous people of border regions. Meanwhile, drug transit through Iran has inevitably increased the use of these substances inside the country. Statistics show that more than 60% of the crimes that occur in Iran are related to narcotics, and eight people die every day from drug abuse.

In addition, the main cause of insecurity in the southeast of Iran are the armed gangs engaged in drug trafficking. For this reason, the Islamic Republic of Iran spends colossal amounts of money on preventing drug trafficking and has also lost thousands of precious youths who fight the dealers of death on the borderlines and inside the country. Large consignments of drugs are brought to Iran with the help of modern equipment such as advanced telecommunication devices, night vision cameras, various weapons, and even anti-aircraft missiles, along trained people who are familiar with the region. The construction of hundreds of kilometers of ditches, closure of dozens of straits and passageway with reinforced concrete, setting up more than 1,000 border posts and creation of hundreds of watchtowers constitute some of Iran's measures in this domain.

Narcotics, like terrorism, is a global and regional threat, and it is essential for all countries to fight this sinister phenomenon. Thus, it requires cooperation and coordination among all countries. For sure, a global phenomenon that goes beyond the national sovereignty of countries and takes victims around the world calls for a global solution. Hence, the need to approve and enforce international regulations that makes a great number of countries to abide by commitments is highly felt. Such regulations should include an appropriate mechanism for law enforcement cooperation among countries, the exchange of information to prevent the production and trafficking of illicit drugs and the strengthening of countries' capacity and ability to counter narcotics. Meanwhile, the problem of illicit drugs, due to being widely related with organized crimes, cannot be tackled except by an all-out international cooperation and granting universal jurisdiction to all countries for the arrest and trial of its perpetrators. The World Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is an opportunity to remind that drug abuse and trafficking is a global issue and requires a global endeavour to combat it.

FK/RM/ME