Press Release

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(Washington, D.C.)—In commemoration of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Trafficking, John P. Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP); Ambassador Anne Patterson, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL); and Karen Tandy, Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) joined United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa for the release of the U.N.'s 2006 World Drug Report.

The 2006 World Drug Report outlines significant global progress achieved in reducing the threat of drugs over the last year. The report also highlights challenges to international efforts to stem the trafficking, use, and production of dangerous, addictive drugs. Among the key findings of the U.N. World Drug Report:

• Drug traffickers have invested heavily in increasing the potency of cannabis which has produced devastating effects. Today, the characteristics of cannabis are no longer that different from those of other plant-based drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Differing messages as well as legislative changes by various governments regarding marijuana leave young people confused as to just how dangerous cannabis is.

• In the past five years, the area under coca cultivation in Andean countries has fallen by more than a quarter. At the same time, however, demand for cocaine is rising in Europe to alarming levels.

• After years of rapid increases, the global market for amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) is stabilizing.

• While global drug market trends are generally moving in the right direction, more work is needed to ensure that these trends will be sustained.

Director Walters said, "This report is an international wake up call for those who still advocate the dangerous myth that marijuana is a harmless substance. While overall youth drug use in the United States has declined by almost 20 percent over the past four years, we are still seeing too many of our young people becoming addicted to cannabis. We are pleased to have the opportunity to join the United Nations in sharing with the rest of the world what science and research has been informing drug policy officials for years: If we are to make further progress in reducing the international drug threat, we must do everything we can to share our global understanding that all illegal drugs including marijuana are serious threats to the health of our citizens. We must continue our aggressive efforts to reduce the international drug problem by working to reduce both the supply and demand for all illegal drugs."

Ambassador Patterson stated, "The Department of State supports UNODC's efforts to assist countries in meeting their obligations under the UN drug conventions through both financial contributions to the organization and through many complementary bilateral and multilateral programs." The Ambassador added that "one of the primary goals of my Department is to work with international partners to reduce or eliminate drug supplies, especially cocaine in the Andean regional and opium in Afghanistan. We are also fully engaged in combating the threat of synthetic drugs, especially methamphetamine."

DEA Administrator Tandy said, ""For the Drug Enforcement Administration and our counterparts around the globe, every day is an International Day Against Drug Abuse and Trafficking. DEA has banded with our international partners in Afghanistan and Mexico to meet our toughest challenges head-on -- with new enforcement strategies and training and equipment for special foreign narcotics police. The collective efforts of the global community are making a difference - from the seizure in Mexico of precursor chemicals capable of producing more than 2 tons of methamphetamine and the seizure of more than 800 pounds of methamphetamine along with the largest meth lab in Mexico's history, to the first-ever extraditions from Afghanistan of heroin traffickers who used heroin as a form of jihad on Americans." Tandy added, "The often overlooked fact that only 5 percent of the world's population uses drugs is further proof that the DEA and our international partners are doing our jobs and doing them well."