Amid rising affluence in the region, Asia has become an even bigger market for illicit drugs, prompting authorities to look at new ways to tackle what has become a serious social menace.
The magnitude of the challenge was underlined by the recent release of The World Drug Report by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
In Thailand, the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) has been helping to publicise the report in order to raise public awareness of the dangers posed to communities and families by production, trafficking, and consumption of drugs.
Consumption of illicit drugs from marijuana to amphetamines, heroin and cocaine affects not just the user, but causes “tremendous hardship and misery to families and loved ones”, said Yury Fedotov, the executive director of the UNODC.
Drug use also causes psychological and behavioural problems “and can ruin education and employment opportunities. The impact is felt in communities, criminal justice systems and across society”, he added at a recent briefing held by the ONCB.
Many drug-related problems, he says, are preventable through treatment and education, which could also possibly reduce the 200,000 deaths per year attributed to illicit drug use. For example, of the 12.7 million people who inject drugs, 13% are HIV-positive and through needle sharing, the disease is sure to spread.
Asia’s increasing wealth has also given rise to some disturbing new trends, according to Mr Fedotov.
“Global availability of cocaine has fallen as production has declined since 2007,” he said. “However, greater spending power has made some Asian countries more vulnerable to cocaine use.”
“The trend [of drug consumption] is currently stable. However it is very high if you compare it to five years ago,” added Tun Nay Soe, the programme coordinator of the UNODC.
In Asia, heroin and methamphetamine are two most widespread drugs, while globally, cannabis and opioids are part of a rising trend.
Heroin cannot be found in nature but is a semi-synthetic opioid created by refining morphine derived from opium poppy plants.
Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan rose 36% from 2012 to 2013 to 209,000 hectares. Afghanistan accounts for 80% or 5,500 tonnes of global opium production. Myanmar has been playing a bigger role since 2006, and currently has 57,800 hectares dedicated to opium cultivation.
As for methamphetamines, pill seizures in East and Southeast Asia increased seven-fold from 2008 to 240 million pills in 2013. Crystal meth seizures almost doubled from 8 tonnes in 2008 to 15 tonnes in 2013, and are likely to rise further.
Due to higher seizure rates and improved detection and suppression campaigns by authorities, drug traffickers have changed their approach to working with precursors. The more sophisticated operators now run front chemical companies to make the exchange of goods easier.
“Precursor chemicals, in particular acetic anhydride, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are being continuously diverted and trafficked within East and Southeast Asia to meet high demand for heroin and methamphetamine in the region,” the World Drug Report noted.
As legal substances, these precursors found in chemical companies or even local pharmacies are used as substitutes to make illicit drugs when the primary natural substances are not available or are too expensive. In some countries, users switch between heroin and pharmaceutical painkillers as well.
As a precursor of heroin, acetic anhydride in Afghanistan cost as much as $430 per litre in 2011, compared with only $8 in 2002 and a global price of only $1.50.
“It is estimated that 15% of the legal acetic anhydride is used to manufacture heroin,” the report stated.
North Korea has the highest exports of precursors within the region followed by Japan, Singapore, Thailand, China and India.
Government authorities are being urged to create more up-to-date laws to deal with adapted and non-conventional trafficking methods that have resulted in more drugs getting across borders more easily.
Rachanikorn Sarasiri, the deputy secretary-general of the ONCB, said that Thailand had increased monitoring at border areas, entertainment places, rehabilitation centres and workplaces. Drug control is also part of the national and regional agenda in line with the Asean Drug Free Vision 2015.
Mr Fedotov said the UNODC this year would focus on three main approaches to reduce drug supplies and usage: supply and demand reduction; education on prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and social protection; and strengthening ties between policymakers and the scientific community to combat the rise of precursor production.