UN Reports Growing Use of Synthetic Drugs In Asia

A policeman stands guard near bags of methamphetamine pills during the 39th Destruction of Confiscated Narcotics in Ayutthaya province, nearly 80 km (50 miles) north of Bangkok, June 24, 2011. About 5,844 kg (12,884 lbs) of drugs, among them methamphetamines, marijuana, heroin and opium worth more than 7,400 million baht ($242 million) were destroyed to commemorate Drugs Free Day on June 26, according to the Thai Public Health Ministry. (Photo: Reuters)

Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Brian Padden, VOA | Jakarta

"We've seen a four fold increase in the seized methamphetamine seizures over the past couple of years.”

The United Nations released a report Tuesday documenting a significant expansion of illicit drug manufacturing, trafficking and use in East and Southeast Asia.

The report from the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime urges governments in the region to increase enforcement, prevention and treatment programs to contain the growing problem.

Gary Lewis, the U.N. Office of Drug and Crime regional representative for East Asia and the Pacific, said analysts are most concerned about the growing popularity of amphetamine-type stimulants, or ATS, drugs.

Survey found that most Cambodian youths are involved with alcohol, drugs and unsafe sex

05 Nov 2010
By Keo Nimol
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Soch

The ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MoEYS) along with a number of NGOs and international organizations conducted a survey on school age youths regarding the consumption of alcohol, drugs and sex.

The survey dubbed the MoEYS and NGOs’ investigation on 2,400 youths between the age of 10 to 24, which includes 1,253 boys and 1,236 girls, found that 91% of the boys consume alcohol or alcoholic beverages, whereas 70% of the girls said that they have consumed alcohol or alcoholic beverages.

Regarding sex, 41% of the boys and 23% of the girls indicated that they had sex and some even had abortions. In regards to the consumption of drugs, 15% of the boys and 4% of the girls said they have used drugs.

The survey was conducted in 8 provinces and municipalities: Phnom Penh, Battambang province, Kampong Cham province, Siem Reap province, Banteay Meanchey province, Svay Rieng province, Koh Kong province, and it took place at the beginning of 2010.

Pen Saroeun, director of educational health at MoEYS, said on 05 November that the survey was conducted during a period of 1 year in order to collect various statistics and the questions were asked to Cambodian youths along a number of hot spot areas where there are large crowds and where diseases could be easily spread.

Pen Saroeun added: “The areas are places where there are bars, karaoke parlors, massage parlors, street corners, soccer fields, attraction parks, public parks, snooker parlors, computer game parlors etc…”

Pen Saroeun indicated that after collecting the survey results, MoEYS called for cooperation between the authority and the NGOs in order to educate the youths so they may understand about the various dangers from consumption of drugs, alcohol and sex.

Dr. Um Sopheap, president of the Khmer HIV/AIDS NGO Alliance (KHANA), who uses the results of the survey, indicated that the survey is useful for Cambodia in regards to youth involvement in the use of drugs, alcohol and sex.

Um Sopheap said that the results of the survey could be used to set up new programs to educate the youths about the protection of their health: “This if the first time in Cambodia that there is such level of study, and we obtained this much scientific information. This is very needed information for programs to set up policies for the youths.”

The survey was conducted with the participation of UNICEF, WHO, UNFPA, UNESCO, UNAIDS, SRP, USAID and PRASIT etc…

Illegal drug production, use rises in Cambodia

04/10/2007
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Military police have recently discovered a large-scale drug laboratory in Phnom Penh, the biggest ever discovered in Cambodia.

The discovery has concerned authorities, who warn that Cambodia is becoming major regional centre for illegal drug production and use.

Earlier this year authorities also discovered a lab containing large quantities of the chemicals used to produce methamphetamines.

Holly Bradford, who founded Korsang, an organisation working with cambodian drug users told the Connect Asia program that drugs are easily available on the streets.

"You can go into the inner city and they're all smoking it or snorting it and you can go way up into the provinces, into the jungles and there's people up there using it as well," she said.

"So it's widespread, from the top to the bottom, from the side to the side fo the country."

While the increase in street usage is a major problem, officials from the United Nations Office on Crime and Drugs are also concerned about the rise in large-scale production of illegal amphetamines.

The UNODC's program officer, Lars Pedersen says that one of the reasons amphetamine producers and traffickers use Cambodia is because it has the weakest control systems in the region.

"It has a long border, there's multiple waterways into Cambodia," he said.

"Its extremely difficult to control with respect to trafficking and also there's very limited control systems with respect to precursor chemicals that can enter Cambodia."

Mr Pedersen says the main problem the government faces is finding a way to tackle corruption, which is at the core of the drug problem.