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:
In 1995, Uruguay ratified the 1988 Convention. With the exception of Guyana, which is not a party to the 1961 Convention, all States in South America are parties to the three main international drug control treaties. The Board urges the Government of Guyana to accede to the 1961 Convention as soon as possible, especially considering the strategic location of the country.
In 1995, at the request of the Government of Colombia, the Board sent a mission to that country. Also in 1995, a joint mission of the Board and UNDCP visited Brazil.
Regional Development
The Board appreciates the efforts made by CICAD to fill the gap left by the dissolution of the South American Agreement on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (ASEP) and hopes that the necessary priority will be given to coordination and the exchange of information at the regional level. The Board also appreciates UNDCP initiatives aimed at promoting comprehensive subregional strategies and programmes, which started in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru in 1994, and it hopes that those efforts will contribute to the improvement of subregional cooperation.
The Board is confident that the declaration of principles and the plan of action adopted by the summit of the Americas, held at Miami, United States, in December 1994, which have already led to several joint activities, will translate into a comprehensive continental policy.
Bolivia undertook in 1994 a complete ministerial restructuring, which should be followed up by an updating of its national drug control plan of 1993. The Board notes with satisfaction that in Peru, where a national drug control plan was adopted in 1994, the Government has already passed legislation on the creation of a national system for drug abuse prevention and control to facilitate the execution of that plan.
Money Laundering
The Board urges all Governments in South America to consider the fight against money laundering a matter of the highest priority, so that the large flow of capital stemming from illicit drug production, manufacture and trafficking will not have a long-lasting negative economic, social and political impact. Several countries in South America still need to lay down the legal foundations for combating money laundering in all its complexity, including the adoption of legal provisions for freezing capital and seizing assets of illicit origin, the establishment of the institutions required to monitor financial markets closely and the introduction of administrative measures to enable such institutions to detect suspicious transactions promptly. The Board takes note with appreciation of the legislative measures adopted by the Governments of Chile (1994) and Colombia (1995) to make money laundering a criminal offence.
Cannabis
Cannabis continues to be cultivated in South America, mostly in Brazil and Colombia. Large amounts of cannabis are smuggled out of Colombia, as evidenced by substantial cannabis seizures in Europe and North America. In other South American countries, cannabis is grown mainly for local consumption; in most countries in the region, cannabis remains the main drug of abuse.
Opium, Heroin
Repeated seizures of high-purity heroin of Colombian origin in some countries in Europe and North America seems to indicate that illicit poppy cultivation, opium production and heroin and/or morphine manufacture have continued in that country, using primarily the trafficking networks of the illicit cocaine trade. Even though no illicit poppy cultivation was reported in other countries in South America in 1995, Governments in the region should continue to be on the watch for possible expansion and subsequent damaging effects of such cultivation in a region with no tradition of opium production or heroin and/or morphine manufacture, where the spread of such activity would further complicate illicit drug trafficking and abuse patterns.
Coca, Cocaine
Coca bush cultivation and coca leaf production patterns remained unchanged throughout 1995. The largest coca leaf producer in the world continues to be Peru, followed by Bolivia. The Board notes with appreciation the renewed efforts made by the Bolivian and particularly the Colombian Governments to step up eradication programmes, even in the face of strongly organized and highly publicized local opposition.
The Board has repeatedly drawn the attention of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs to the fact that the opinions and practices of the Governments of Argentina, Bolivia and Peru in respect of licit and illicit coca bush cultivation and coca leaf production and consumption are not in conformity with the provisions of the 1961 Convention. In 1994, the Bolivian Government officially requested World Health Organization (WHO) to carry out scientific studies to determine the nature and properties of coca leaves. The Board recommends that WHO should not limit its study to the clarification of the alleged medicinal value of coca leaves but should clearly define its opinion in respect of the abuse potential of coca leaves and the public health consequences of the different forms of coca leaf consumption.
Coca paste continues to be produced mostly in Bolivia and Peru. It is smuggled out of those countries into Colombia for final processing into cocaine hydrochloride. Cocaine hydrochloride is also increasingly being manufactured in Bolivia and Peru, though on a smaller scale.
Coca paste is easily available in producer countries such as Bolivia, Colombia and Peru, where it is usually smoked mixed with tobacco. The abuse of coca paste continues to pose serious social and health problems in those countries. In transit countries, where traffickers usually pay their partners in kind, cocaine hydrochloride is increasingly becoming available at relatively low prices; consequently, cocaine abuse has become a growing social burden. The incidence of abuse of opiates in South America continues to be relatively low, but increased availability from producing areas within the region could substantially change the situation for the worse.
Psychotropics
The increasing abuse of psychotropic substances, particularly anxiolytics (minor tranquillizers) and amphetamine-type drugs, has been reported mainly in the urban areas of some countries in South America. In the opinion of the Board, the dispensing and distribution of pharmaceutical preparations containing psychotropic substances without medical prescription or through non-rational prescribing practices are major factors contributing to the propagation of their abuse. The Board appreciates the fact that, in Brazil, anti-obesity medicaments containing anorectic amphetamine-like substances in combination with sedatives were withdrawn from the market in 1994; however, the large-scale prescribing and utilization of amphetamine-type compounds continue, mainly in Argentina, Brazil and Chile, and are in contrast with medical practices in most countries in the world.
Precursors
The prevention of the activities of clandestine laboratories and the detection of such laboratories are often hindered by the unregulated and uncontrolled flow of chemicals and solvents needed for the illicit manufacture of coca paste and cocaine hydrochloride. The chemicals and solvents usually arrive in South America from Europe and the United States. Some of the chemicals and solvents enter the region illegally, but most of them are legally imported by legitimate enterprises or "front" companies and are diverted into illicit channels. Most countries in the region lack the institutional structures and financial and technical resources to effectively control goods trafficked by road, particularly in the Amazon basin, where most of the international boundaries dividing Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela lie. Those remote, uncontrolled areas are used by drug traffickers to supply their coca paste laboratories in Bolivia and Peru and their cocaine-processing laboratories in Colombia with the required chemicals and solvents.
Until all countries in South America are capable of defining and implementing, within adequate legal frameworks, consistent and comprehensive policies that are carried out by efficient governmental agencies, chemicals and solvents will continue to enter the region and will have, in the long term, a negative effect on the results of even the most effective law enforcement efforts.
Fact-finding Missions
A mission of the Board visited Colombia from 28 August to 1 September 1995. The Board notes with satisfaction the successful eradication and interdiction efforts in Colombia, which led to the destruction of a great number of illicit coca bush and opium poppy cultivation sites and to the seizure of several clandestine laboratories and substantial amounts of illicit drugs.
The Board highly appreciates the successful action undertaken in Colombia against powerful drug cartels, which constitute a constant menace to the economic and political stability of the country. The Medellín cartel was dismantled in 1993 and the leaders of the Cali cartel have recently been arrested. The Board expects that the arrests will be followed by the urgent completion of the judicial process against those criminals and by their severe punishment.
The Board welcomes the adoption of a national plan on drug control by the National Narcotics Council of Colombia and the support given to it by the highest authorities of the country. The plan contains measures for the eradication of illicit crops and for other law enforcement action, provisions against money laundering, and projects for alternative development, prevention and rehabilitation. The Board will continue to watch closely the implementation of that plan.
Colombia acceded to the 1988 Convention in 1994, but the Board regrets the significant reservations contained in the instrument of ratification. At the same time, the Board notes with satisfaction the progress made in the country in respect of the implementation of some provisions of the 1988 Convention, particularly the strengthening of controls over chemicals and solvents used in the illicit manufacture of cocaine, in conformity with CICAD model legislation. The Board notes with appreciation that pursuant to its request the same controls were extended to other substances under the control regime of the 1988 Convention, particularly to ephedrine and pseudoephedrine.
The Board trusts that political difficulties will not reduce the strong commitment of Colombia to conduct the fight against drug trafficking organizations and illicit cultivation, production and manufacture of drugs. Drug trafficking organizations are increasingly losing the support of the population, and the Board is convinced that the majority of Colombian society will support the authorities in the fight against drug trafficking.
Brazil had not been controlling adequately the manufacture and distribution of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. In August 1995, a joint mission of the Board and UNDCP visited Brazil in order to assist the competent national authorities in the development of new drug control legislation. The new draft law is to create a sound legal basis for the control of licit drugs and for the fight against illicit drugs. The Board notes with satisfaction that the Government has already decided to present the new draft legislation prepared in cooperation with the mission to the Parliament and recommends the Government to consider its adoption an issue of high priority.
The Board notes with concern that existing legislation does not ensure the prevention of money laundering activities and the prosecution of persons engaged in such activities. The Board urges the Government of Brazil to undertake, as soon as possible, the development, adoption and implementation of adequate legislation because the country's situation makes it attractive to persons who engage in money laundering.
The Board is aware of the enormous difficulties encountered in controlling the movement of illicit goods in the Amazon belt. It encourages the Government of Brazil to initiate national and regional action to improve that situation, if necessary in cooperation with UNDCP.
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.