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The conflict in Ukraine, a breeding ground for drugs

2022-06-27T05:32:13.097Z


Illicit drug manufacturing could take advantage of the war in Ukraine to thrive, the UN warned on Monday (June 27th), in light of...


Illicit drug manufacturing could take advantage of the war in Ukraine to thrive, the UN warned on Monday (June 27th), in light of the experience of conflicts in other areas.

Read alsoUkraine: European unity challenged by a long war

"

Reports from the Middle East and South East Asia tend to indicate that conflict situations can act as a magnet for the manufacture of synthetic drugs, which can in fact be produced anywhere

," the report said.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNFDC) in its annual report.

This effect can be even greater when the conflict zone is close to large consumer markets

,” he adds.

Before the Russian invasion, Ukraine had a growing number of amphetamine laboratories, said expert Angela Me, interviewed by AFP.

Nearly 80 had been dismantled in 2020, compared to 17 in 2019. This production capacity “

could expand if the conflict persists

”.

The police are no longer there to stop the activity of the laboratories

,” she explains.

War can also "

disrupt trafficking routes

", the report notes, citing a possible decline in Ukraine since early 2022.

Global repercussions

Angela Me also calls for monitoring the situation in Afghanistan, which in 2021 produced 86% of the world's opium.

In April, the supreme leader of the Taliban ordered a ban on poppy cultivation.

We have to see if this will result in a drastic reduction

”, underlines the expert, or if on the contrary the illicit fields will develop due to the deterioration of socio-economic conditions in this country.

Any change will have "

repercussions on almost all regions of the world

", warns the UN.

Some 284 million people worldwide - one in 18 in the 15-64 age group - touched drugs in 2020, up 26% from a decade earlier.

Although the majority are men, women make heavy use of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) but are "

under-represented in treatment

", deplores Angela Me. She mentions "

a double stigma

" and the need to set up places where they feel "

safe

" and can stay with their children.

Read alsoCocaine routes: these illicit global flows that irrigate France

Another notable figure, cocaine production posted a new record, rising to 1,982 tonnes in 2020. The UNODC report, which is a "

preliminary assessment

", is based on information the body has collected based on responses submitted by Member States, its own offices and analysis of open sources, media and institutional reports.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2022-06-27

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