How the war in Ukraine favors the spread of drugs

Danger bell today from UN as the war in Ukraine may benefit from illicit drug production.

“Data from the Middle East and Southeast Asia (…) show that Conflict situations can act as a magnet for the production of synthetic drugswhich can actually be produced anywhere, ”notes the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in its annual report.

“This effect may be even greater” in this case as “the area where the conflict takes place is close to huge consumer marketsHe adds.

Prior to the Russian military invasion on February 24, he was already in Ukraine increasing number of amphetamine laboratories, explains the expert Angela Me, who was asked about it by the French Agency. Nearly 80 were dismembered in 2020, compared to 17 in 2019.

This productive potential “can be increased if the conflict persists”, as “the police are no longer there to stop the work of the laboratories”, he explains.

What about amphetamines?

THE war in Ukraine It could, however, raise obstacles to “trafficking routes”, the report said, referring to a possible reduction in Ukraine since early 2022. 2021 accounted for 86% of world opium production.

In April, the Taliban’s top leader ordered a ban on poppy cultivation. It remains to be seen “whether this will translate into a drastic reduction” in production, the expert underlines, or whether, on the contrary, illegal crops will expand, due to the deterioration of socio-economic conditions in the country. “Any change will have an ‘impact on almost every part of the world,'” the UN quoted AFP as saying.

Some 284 million people worldwide – or one in 18 in the 15-64 age range – used drugs in 2020, a number increased by 26% from a decade earlier.

Although the majority of users are menwomen increasingly resort to amphetamine-type stimulants, but are “underrepresented in treatment,” says Angela Me.

He talks about “double stigma” and the need to create places where they will feel “safe” and can stay with their children.

Another noteworthy fact: cocaine production reached a record level of 1,982 tonnes in 2020.

The UNODC report, “Preliminary Assessment”, is based on data collected from its member states, through its own channels, as well as from the analysis of data from so-called open imgs, ie media publications and reports. institutions.