Opium production plunges

GLOBAL opium production plunged almost 40% last year but the world remains awash with heroin, the narcotic that still kills the most people worldwide, the United Nations said yesterday.

UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) head Yury Fedotov said: “Heroin continues to be the drug that kills the most people and this resurgence must be addressed urgently.”

A UNODC report said production of opium, which is processed into heroin, had fallen to 4 770 tons last year, a 38% plunge from 2014.

The report also said the sharp fall was unlikely to lead to major shortages in heroin supplies since traffickers had built up massive stockpiles in recent years.

Globally, about 5% of adults, or 250 million people, had consumed at least one drug in 2014, the UNODC said.

Of the estimated 29 million heavy users, about 17 million are addicted to opiates, which include heroin, opium and morphine.

However, the global cocaine market appeared to be shrinking.

Meanwhile, dagga remains the world’s most commonly used drug, with an estimated 183 million consumers.

The report said the West’s growing liberal attitude toward the drug had gone hand in hand with a worrying increase in heavy users.

The UNODC also expressed concern over the continued proliferation of new narcotics developed from natural or synthetic substances to circumvent existing drug laws.