CAUTION: The following review of the regional drug situation has been excerpted, as background information only, from the 1995 Annual Report of the International Narcotics Control Board, which is under embargo until 9 a.m. (European Time) on 28 February 1996. The Board annually assesses the drug situation in each region, based on information obtained from a variety of sources, including Government authorities. No part of the report or this excerpt may be used before its official release:
Of the 15 States in East and South-East Asia, 12 are parties to the 1961 Convention, nine are parties to the 1971 Convention, five are parties to the 1988 Convention. Cambodia, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Viet Nam are not yet parties to any of the international drug control treaties.
In 1995, the Board sent a mission to Singapore.
Subregional Development
In May 1995, a protocol to the 1993 memorandum of understanding between the Governments of China, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar and Thailand and UNDCP was signed at a ministerial meeting at Beijing. The protocol extended the scope of the memorandum of understanding to include Cambodia and Viet Nam. The Board highly appreciates the increasing cooperation between countries in the region. The Board welcomes the conclusion of an agreement on mutual cooperation in drug control between the competent authorities of Myanmar and Viet Nam. The Board is, however, concerned about the delay in the adoption of adequate drug control legislation in Viet Nam and encourages the Government of that country, which is receiving increased international assistance, to ratify the international drug control treaties and to cooperate with the Board by providing the necessary information on drug control issues.
In Cambodia, new drug legislation has been drafted with UNDCP assistance; it is being considered by the Government for adoption.
The Board regrets that its training seminar for drug control administrators of southern and eastern Asia could not take place in Malaysia, but the Board plans to hold such a seminar in early 1996.
Money Laundering
Money laundering is considered a major problem by several Governments in the region. In China, many financial transactions are conducted through informal channels without the involvement of financial institutions. This informal banking system offers plenty of opportunities for money laundering and makes it difficult for the Government to introduce countermeasures. Investment opportunities in China are also exploited by persons engaged in money laundering. The Board appreciates that the authorities of Hong Kong and Singapore, two major financial centres in the region, are improving the controls over financial institutions and are implementing recommendations on the prevention of money laundering formulated by the Financial Action Task Force [of the OECD].
Demand Reduction
The Board welcomes the increased attention being given by Governments to demand reduction programmes. In Viet Nam, the national drug control programmes include the treatment, rehabilitation and social reintegration of drug abusers. In Thailand, the drug abuse prevention plan for the period 1992-1996 is focused on the extension of knowledge and understanding of drug abuse and its prevention and on the development of a social environment conducive to drug-free lifestyles.
The Board appreciates the action taken by the Government of Japan in the field of drug demand reduction, the conducting of preventive educational programmes and the treatment and rehabilitation of addicts. It is hoped that the policy of the Government of Japan, which combines law enforcement efforts with a demand reduction strategy, will prevent the development of a situation characterized by large-scale drug abuse, as has happened in other developed countries.
In some villages in the Lao People's Democratic Republic, programmes for the prevention of drug abuse and the detoxification and rehabilitation of drug abusers have been established with UNDCP assistance. In the Philippines, almost 3,000 people are treated in 29 treatment and rehabilitation centres. There are compulsory treatment and rehabilitation programmes for addicts in China, Singapore and Viet Nam.
Cannabis
Cannabis grows wild and is extensively cultivated in many countries in South-East Asia. In Thailand, cannabis cultivation is spreading from the northern and north-eastern provinces to other parts of the country. According to the Government of Thailand, about 900 tonnes of cannabis are illicitly produced in the country each year. In Indonesia, 50 tonnes of cannabis were seized and 37 hectares of illicitly cultivated cannabis were destroyed in July 1994. According to the Government of the Philippines, the country has become a producer of very potent cannabis, which is illicitly exported to Australia and Japan. In December 1994, a shipment of 1 tonne of cannabis was seized in Hong Kong. The illicit export of cannabis from south-east Asia to Australia, Japan, the United States and other countries is substantial. At the same time, cannabis of Nigerian origin is also frequently seized in Hong Kong and Japan.
Cannabis is the main drug of abuse in Indonesia and the Philippines, but its abuse has also been reported in most countries in South-East Asia.
Opium, Heroin
Illicit poppy cultivation and opium production continue in South-East Asia. The largest producer of opium remains Myanmar; in that country, illicit poppy cultivation and opium production take place mainly in Shan State. Largely because of the activity of insurgent groups in such cultivation areas along the borders of Myanmar, no reliable information is available on the extent of illicit poppy cultivation and opium production. The Board hopes that the improvement of the political situation in those areas of Myanmar will allow the undertaking of alternative development projects. Illicit poppy cultivation has been reduced considerably in the Lao People's Democratic Republic and Viet Nam as a consequence of development projects and eradication programmes. There are reports of some illicit poppy cultivation and opium production in Cambodia and in China, mainly in remote areas of Yunnan Province.
Opium smoking still persists as a tradition in some countries in South-East Asia, but a falling trend has emerged. This is the case among hill-tribes in the northern part of the Lao People's Democratic Republic and in Viet Nam. At Ho Chi Minh City and in other urban centres in Viet Nam, the practice of injecting "blackwater" opium (i.e. raw morphine extracted from opium smoking residue), often mixed with other drugs (pethidine or diazepam), is becoming a problem.
Heroin manufacture has reportedly increased in Myanmar. Clandestine laboratories are located in the opium production areas in Myanmar, mainly in Shan State, along the border where acetic anhydride illicitly enters the country from neighbouring countries. The operation of small heroin laboratories has been reported in northern border areas in Thailand. South-East Asia is a major supplier of illicit heroin markets throughout the world but substantial quantities are consumed locally. There are many trafficking routes leading from Cambodia, Hong Kong and Thailand to Australia, the United States and countries in Europe. In some cases countries in western Africa are used as transit points. There are signs that China, above all Yunnan Province and Guangzhou, is increasingly being used as a transit point for trafficking heroin. In the past three years, Chinese authorities have seized between 4 and 4.5 tonnes of heroin annually.
Rapid growth of heroin addiction has been observed in South-East Asia. The shift from opium abuse to heroin abuse continues among hill-tribes in the mountainous areas of south-east Asia, but heroin abuse has also been reported in some urban centres in, for example, Myanmar, where it was almost non-existent two years ago.
Psychotropics
Phensedyl (a cough medicine containing codeine and, in some cases, ephedrine) is abused in South-East Asia and in South Asia. Seizures of that product are frequently reported in Myanmar and the Philippines.
Among psychotropic substances, methamphetamine (commonly called "ice" or "shabu") represents a major drug problem. Illicit methamphetamine manufacture, trafficking and abuse constitute a major concern of countries in the region, particularly in east Asia. The illicit manufacture of methamphetamine in mainland China, Taiwan, the Philippines and Thailand, the illicit methamphetamine traffic in Hong Kong, Japan and the Republic of Korea, and methamphetamine abuse in Japan, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea and Thailand are connected with the activities of criminal organizations in east Asia. Increasing amounts of ephedrine, the most important precursor for methamphetamine manufacture, are reportedly being seized in mainland China, as well in Taiwan Province of China. More than 1 tonne of methamphetamine was seized in China during the 1990s and other important seizures of methamphetamine have been reported by Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Philip-pines and Republic of Korea. Substantial amounts of methamphetamine are smuggled out of east Asia into the United States, where abuse of that substance seems to be increasing. Action to prevent the illicit manufacture of and the illicit traffic in methamphetamine and ephedrine is described above.
The extent of the illicit traffic in and abuse of other psychotropic substances is not comparable to that of methamphetamine, but growing abuse of benzodiazepines has been reported in some countries in the region. Weaknesses in the control of the pharmaceutical supply system, as evidenced by, for example, over-the-counter dispensing of prescription pharmaceutical preparations, contribute to the spread of their abuse. The Board recommends that the Governments of Cambodia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar and Viet Nam should develop adequate pharmaceutical supply systems, ensuring proper supervision of the distribution of pharmaceuticals and restriction of the sale of medicines on "parallel markets". In addition, the Board recommends that World Health Organization (WHO) and other international organizations should assist those Governments in their efforts.
Fact-finding Mission
A mission of the Board visited Singapore in September 1995. Singapore had been used to divert large quantities of cough mixtures containing codeine and some consignments of psychotropic substances from licit trade into illicit channels. The Board appreciates the determination of the Government of Singapore to stop diversion and to cooperate with other countries and the Board to that end.
The Board notes with concern the absence in Singapore of control measures for international trade in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances in free ports and zones. The Board requests the Government of Singapore to adopt and implement such control measures as soon as possible, pursuant to the provisions of the 1961 Convention and the 1971 Convention.
The Board appreciates the steps taken by the Government of Singapore to implement the provisions of the 1988 Convention. The Board trusts that Singapore will soon accede to that Convention. Several provisions of the 1988 Convention are especially important to Singapore, which is being used as a major transshipment point. The Board invites the Government to participate in regional meetings on the control of precursors.
Singapore has introduced measures against money laundering that have already led to the seizure and confiscation of assets derived from illicit drug trafficking. The Board welcomes the information received from Singapore on the total value of seized and confiscated assets. The Board invites other countries to follow the example of Singapore. The Board notes that the drug abuse situation in Singapore has remained stable for the last 20 years.
The entire text of the INCB Report for 1995 can be found on INCB's Home Page accessed from : http://www.undcp.org beginning 27 February 1996