United Nations 2006 World Drug Report

[Frazz]

The Full report can be found here http://www.unodc.org/unodc/world_drug_report.html

 

A couple of exerts from the report ;

 

"Confronted with the evidence that a relatively inexpensive and harmless recreational drug continues to be consumed by at least 1 in 25 people on the planet, and that it is supplied by a vast army of small growers the value of whose total economic activity is enormous, ought to make even the most diehard pot prohibitionist hesitate. Cannabis prohibition is a failed policy. In a world challenged by mass poverty, global warming, nuclear proliferation, and Islamist terrorism, what sense does it make to expend scarce government resources on enforcing the unenforceable?"

 

*("For example, readers learn that the herb is pricey in Japan, at almost $35 per gram, but relatively inexpensive in Kazakhstan, where “as much as 400,000 hectares of cannabis grow wild.” “Swaziland is known for producing high-quality cannabis,” according to the report, while, “Malawi is...world renowned for the quality of its cannabis.”

 

*The authors go on to describe cannabis as an industry that is both enormous in scale and extraordinarily decentralized. The North America market may be worth anywhere from $10 billion to $60 billion annually. That’s a difference equivalent to the gross national incomes of either Nigeria or Ukraine. What’s more, nearly all of this cultivation takes place on small concealed plots so numerous that suppression of cultivation is futile."

 

*The report explains that an estimated 4% of humanity enjoys the planet’s most popular illicit drug

Still, 4% of humanity is 162 million people. To see that in perspective, note that if cannabis users comprised a single nation, it would have the sixth largest national population on the planet.

 

Excellent research paper

[mull]

Some rippa quotes there Fraz, good lookin out mate

[nugget]

nice one Frazzle, some interesting points there about time we're seeing something like this..

 

For anyone thats interested, heres Chapter 2 of the paper, which is dedicated to cannabis.

 

(right-click > save-as or open in a new window)

 

 

 

Chapter 2. Cannabis: Why we should care

 

2.1. Introduction

2.2. The world's biggest drug market is growing and uncharted cannabis is produced in their countries, and their other

2.3. The emergence of 'new cannabis' and the reassessment of health risks

2.4. Conclusion

 

Annex 1 - The plant and the drug

Annex 2 - Estimating yield

Annex 3 - Estimating individual consumption

 

 

For the full report on the other types of drugs just follow Frazzle's link

[MongyMan]

Cheers Frazzle, very interesting..

[Budman2012]

Yeh Thx Frazzle , thats a good read.

and thx Nug for the extra links.

It's a positive report , and I agree we need to see more of them.

Too few and far between all the negative garbage out there.

 

Cheerz.

 

Budman

[WantDaChronic]

great read, now we just need our nation's leaders to read it

[Stoney]

Very true WDC i'll send little johnny lap dog a copy but knowing him unless america or england do something then he wont either

 

cheerz frazz good read

 

:Dj:

[gman]

I've just read the report and to be honest I think Howard would like it. It seems to play into what he and others have been saying for some time. The UN talks of paying cannabis "special attention" and talk of "devastating" effects re: modern cannabis production technology (genetic enhancements etc). I found it very scary myself and with hints of Anslinger era gong beating. What the UN are calling for is a more unified and concerted attack on liberal views towards cannabis (policy)- an international approach to reducing acceptability and availability of the drug. (or is it just me?)

 

As an after note: The report also says that cannabis should be viewed in the same light as other plant based illicit drugs such as heroin and cocaine. Howard's health minister Pyne at a recent COAG meeting in Perth, WA (2006) also stated that cannabis should be viewed in the same light as heroin. Howard himself has expressed this view on several occasions while trying to federally influence the states on uniform mj Laws, undoubtedly based on his views. Howard has claimed that cannabis is largely responsible for mental illness in the Auctralian population. Reading between the lines of this report, it spells stormy weather ahead where international policy making is concerned (The UN are totally against Liberal policy in this report and go so far as to suggest an international convention similar to the Hague convention created by the League of Nations - the predecessor to the UN. The report states that a unified, international approach re: policy/Laws should be implemented.

 

You can see the influence of the WHO and INCB (AKA US) cannabis war dictum.

 

What they seem to specifically target is modern cannabis technology in saying that the significant increases in THC over the last 20 years or so have been devastating and that traffickers have invested heavily in increasing potency. These comments will have major implications for seed banks, hydroponic stores, etc.

 

This dictum first surfaced in 2000 with the WHO and INCB. Since then innumerous entities of the mj game (including med users and suppliers) have gone down. Eg. Marc Emery, Ed Rosenthal, OG etc, etc, etc.

 

Just my opinion but there is a definite thread in this report that is alarmist and carries major implications in drug war politics.

Edited September 18, 2006 by gman

[Bundy]

i noticed this to but i didn't read the whole thing

[gman]

i noticed this to but i didn't read the whole thing

 

UNODC Report 2006

 

 

Pg 2.

 

Preface

 

“The World Drug Report is a repository of statistics and not a place to formulate policy. But (stay tuned) the data prompt a few inescapable conclusions. First, countries need to do more to reduce drug demand in general and to target ATS and cannabis in particular… Third, while drug market trends are moving in the right direction, more work is needed to ensure that those trends will be sustained. After so many years of drug control experience, we now know that a coherent, long term strategy can reduce drug supply, demand and trafficking. If this does not happen, it will be because some nations fail to take the drug issue sufficiently seriously and pursue inadequate policies. In other words, each society faces the drug problem they deserve.

 

Antonio Maria Costa

Executive Director

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

 

Bit scary really. Sorry to harp on but I am writing a book about the politics of the modern cannabis war, so I watch these things closely. A lot of big events have been evolving since the late nineties - largely US/UN influenced - so when I saw a positive spin on the UN report I was surprised. It went against everything they have been doing until now (the WHO, INCB, UN and US all being in bed together). After looking at it, it is clear that the UN have now come out swinging themselves on Brit et al (seen to be) liberalization. This stuff is exactly what Howard has been saying. Note they target ATS (amphetamine type stimulants) and cannabis in particular. The intro says it all.

Edited September 19, 2006 by gman