29 M people drug-dependent – UN report

MANILA, Philippines - Twenty-nine million people worldwide are drug-dependent or classified as suffering from drug use disorders, according to the World Drug Report 2016 released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) ahead of the observance of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking today.

The figure was higher by two million compared with the previous UN report.

Zero-tolerance drug policies, if not properly implemented, may cause violence by stigmatizing and enabling the abuse of power against drug users or “low-level players” in the drug trafficking chain and may lead to mass imprisonment of low-level offenders or forced detention of people who use drugs, according to the report.

Government interventions to disrupt drug trafficking organizations aim to bring criminals to justice and restore the rule of law.

The report said drug law enforcement operations when implemented by impartial, transparent and efficient institutions in compliance with human rights standards, promote justice and the rule of law.

“But when law enforcement operations go against those principles, incentives may be created for indiscriminate repression and for the violation of human rights,” the UN report said.

The report said that “where law enforcement agencies lack resources and are prone to corruption and where justice systems are weak and impunity is prevalent, demands on the police to be more effective in countering drug trafficking can lead to indiscriminate apprehension of those likely to be perceived as criminals.” 

“This can also lead law enforcement agents to target the types of crime for which suspects are easier to identify, which tend to be minor drug-related offenses rather than more serious offenses such as homicide,” it said.

Governance and the rule of law, the UN report said, represent a crucial area in which the links between the drug problem and development have not been sufficiently recognized. 

“Guaranteeing the rule of law needs to be viewed as a concept wider than mere coercion; it also encompasses inclusive access to justice delivered fairly, in full respect of human rights, through a robust system that places authority in the hands of relevant institutions, with appropriate safeguards,” the report said.

The profits and power of drug trafficking organizations provide them with resources to reinforce corruption by buying protection from law enforcement agents, particularly when the agents’ levels of remuneration are low, and from politicians and the business sector, which means that “corruption can be the Achilles heel in the response to drug trafficking.”

The report also classified two types of corruption – low-level or “petty” and high-level or “grand” – that can also vary depending on the strength of the rule of law and the effectiveness of state institutions; characteristics of the political systems such as the strength of political parties, the efficacy of the criminal justice system, including its investigative and prosecutorial functions, the existence of functioning oversight mechanisms and sanctions for corruption can reduce the extent of drug-related corruption.

Low-level corruption, according to the report, often starts with street police or local politicians, who may be vulnerable to crime because of lack of social legitimacy or because they come from the same communities as members of criminal groups.

High-level corruption affects the highest ranks of power, such as police chiefs, national politicians and high-level law enforcement officials. The practice of corrupting officials to facilitate drug trafficking has been documented in all parts of the world.

Drug trafficking organizations conduct their business using both corruption and violence.

The extent of drug use among the world population has remained stable over the past four years.

Cannabis remains the world’s most widely used drug, with an estimated 183 million people having used the drug in 2014, and amphetamines remain the second most widely used drug. – With Marvin Sy