VIENNA, 21 April 2004 — Every dollar spent on prevention of drug abuse saves seven to 10 lost on health care and crime, according to the head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC).
Speaking at the conference of the World Federation of Therapeutic Communities in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, an annual gathering of grassroots and volunteer organizations involved in efforts to reduce drug abuse worldwide, last Wednesday, Dr. Antonio Maria Costa stressed the importance of preventive and therapeutic action before drug abuse becomes a health, social and financial burden.
“But it is not only a matter of money. Treatment and rehabilitation reduce drug abuse, improve health and the social functioning of people. The risk of infectious diseases is lower, and so is crime,” he added.
Costa noted significant progress in international efforts to control traditional organic drugs such as coca and opium. Over the past few years, cultivation of opium in the Golden Triangle and of coca in the Andean region had gone down significantly, he said.
But new threats including HIV/AIDS continued to be fuelled by drug abuse, especially in Eastern Europe and Asia.
There was also an increase in production and trafficking of synthetic drugs. “Because of the economics of supply and the fashion of demand, man-made illicit drugs are replacing the natural ones at an increasing pace,” Costa said.
“Seizures of laboratories, equipment, precursors and finished products show that, since 1998, the market in amphetamine type stimulants has grown in size and sophistication.”
“Drug abuse prevention needs to involve society at large,” he said, citing the example of anti-smoking campaigns which were putting smokers on the defensive. “We need the same consensus against drug abuse,” he added.
