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| Afghanistan |
| U.N.: Record Afghan Opium Output Sparks Rise in Cheaper Heroin Supply |
| 2015-06-28 |
| [AnNahar] Opium cultivation and production in Afghanistan have reached record levels, triggering "a large increase" in cheaper heroin supply in the U.S., the United Nations ...an organization conceived in the belief that we're just one big happy world, with the sort of results you'd expect from such nonsense... said on Friday. Afghan poppy fields covered some 224,000 hectares (553,500 acres) in 2014 -- a seven-percent rise from the 209,000 hectares the previous year, according to a new study by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). As the world's largest opium producer, Afghanistan's steady increase has had a direct impact on global opium cultivation, which with 310,891 hectares is now at its highest since the late 1930s, UNODC noted in its annual World Drugs report. Estimated global production of opiates meanwhile doubled in two years from 3,700 tons in 2012 to 7,554 tons in 2014. Afghanistan accounted for 85 percent of the global output. As a result, "we have been seeing signs in the U.S. and the UK of a large increase of supply," UNODC research branch chief Angela Me told AFP. "In the U.S. there's been an increase in heroin-related deaths and also signs of more and cheaper heroin available. The same goes for the UK where heroin-related deaths have increased recently." Me noted that while drug-related deaths in the U.S. had primarily been linked to the misuse of prescription opioids over the past few years, heroin was now "almost replacing" the trend. The number of Americans dying from heroin abuse rose from 5,925 in 2012 to 8,257 in 2013, reaching the highest level in a decade, the UNODC report said. Globally, some 32.4 million people -- or 0.7 percent of adults -- are users of opiates like heroin and opium. Asia remains the world's largest market for opiates, accounting for an estimated two thirds of all users, while the number of registered heroin users in China is increasing, UNODC said. The agency also highlighted the "increasing importance" of Africa as a transit hub for Afghan heroin bound for Europe and other regions, reflected in the growing figure of seizures being reported in recent years by some African countries. But although heroin seizures increased by eight percent in 2014, "we have not seen big signs of increased supplies in terms of seizure", said Me. This suggests that traffickers may be seeking out new smuggling routes. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #10 Butter is banned by Michelle. Ship. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2015-06-28 23:27 |
| #9 Substitution is possible, but marginal. Butter |
| Posted by: Shipman 2015-06-28 20:22 |
| #8 Depends on your opinion as to the elasticity of demand WRT supply. Historically Drugs are thought to be inelastic. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2015-06-28 19:33 |
| #7 Bad news for Latino American cartels? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2015-06-28 18:10 |
| #6 One would expect lower prices to increase demand. On the plus side, this should help hold down prices in the illegal Oxycontin market. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2015-06-28 16:34 |
| #5 Adam Smith was a doper. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2015-06-28 16:22 |
| #4 Naloxone in the nick of time can allow the victim of a massive heroin overdose to die another day. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2015-06-28 15:18 |
| #3 Uh, huh. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2015-06-28 12:55 |
| #2 Good, those who decide to use it will commit less crime to afford it. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2015-06-28 07:19 |
| #1 IIUC, recently naloxone (Narcan) injectable is being widely distributed in the USA to provide faster reversal of life-threatening opiate toxicity among abusers. This affects death rate statistics. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2015-06-28 00:37 |