World Drug Addict Count Reaches 200 Million

“Just like we cannot imagine a world without alcohol, a world without drugs is unimaginable,” said Ethan Nadelman, the founder of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), in Foreign Policy, to assess the failed work of the United Nations that began in 1998 that was aimed at eliminating drugs at the cost of much effort and money.

158.8 million people in the world have tried marijuana-

According to the annual report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), among the entire population of 4.177 billion aged 15 and 64 in the world, 4.8 percent or 200 million people have tried marijuana. As a consequence, the world drug trade is enormous. DPA estimates that the amount of drug trade in 2006 alone reaches $40 million, accounting for a whopping 6 percent of the total international trade.

Some of the most traded drugs in the world are hemp (marijuana), cocaine, opium, heroin, and amphetamines. Among them, marijuana ranks first in production volume and the number of users.

The UNODC thinks that 42,000 tons in 82 countries is produced every year. Hemp, which lasts a year, contains tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which gives it its hallucinogenic effect.

Marijuana is difficult to detect-

Marijuana is a pain in the neck for international drug prevention authorities. Despite its sheer production volume and number of users, it is very difficult to crack down on. The UNODC said that in 2005, relevant authorities confiscated 42 percent of the cocaine and 26 percent of the heroin produced in the world, while the number for marijuana was only 10.6 percent.

Ninety five percent of world opium production came from Afghanistan and 52 percent of its cocaine came from Columbia last year. As most of their production facilities are located at the foot of mountains, authorities can efficiently find and eradicate them in theory. The situation is different for marijuana, however, as most of it is grown on small-scale farms and can be grown indoors. For example, out of 5.9 million farms found in the US in 2006, 403,322 of them were indoors.

Legalizing marijuana-

Due to the difficulty of eradicating marijuana, some suggest the legalization of the drug. The founder of the DPA said, “Among the 1.8 million drug offenders in the US, 40 percent of them have committed marijuana-related crimes on which an astronomical amount of money is being spent. Marijuana, relatively less harmful than other drugs, should be legalized and taxed, and that tax money should be used to treat other diseases.”

Richard Brunstrom, the police chief in North Wales in the United Kingdom said recently, “A practical approach needs to be adopted to address drug issues as the number of drug takers is on the increase in spite of the anti-drug policy in place.”

Indeed, some places in Europe have legalized marijuana use. In the Netherlands, people are allowed to buy marijuana from shops designated to smoke in 1976, and with a doctor’s prescription, people can take it in Spain, Denmark, Belgium and Luxembourg. In Switzerland, a signature-seeking campaign was waged by 100,000 people to urge its government to hold a referendum on the limited legalization of the marijuana. The referendum will be held in 2008.

Marijuana is a drug-

While there are a lot of people in favor of legalization, a great number of people are against it. Sweden, which legalized the use of marijuana in 1967, banned it in 1969 due to a surge of addicts.

The British national broadcasting station, the BBC reported that those who smoke marijuana have a 40 percent higher risk of developing mental conditions, such as schizophrenia, than those who do not. It also said that 10,000/1 gram of THC in marijuana can cause hallucinations.

Dave Godad, a detective in charge of drug offenses in Vancouver, Canada, where legalization is being pursued, said, “There is no right dosage. Legalization of marijuana will be a big mistake.”

jeon@donga.com