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march 2009 - "drug control show a positive balance sheet"

"From a historical perspective, the first century of drug control shows a positive balance sheet" said Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Demand for drugs has stabilized. A century ago, around 25 million people were using opium in the world - 1.5% of the world's population at that time. China faced an opium epidemic. According to official statistics, almost one quarter of Chinese men consumed opium in 1906, and around 5% of the total Chinese population was addicted. Today, around the world, the total number of problem drug users is around 25 million - less than 0.5% of humanity. The number of people who use illicit drugs at least once a year has been contained to 5% of the adult population - a much lower prevalence than for alcohol and tobacco. Deaths due to drugs are limited to 200,000 a year: one tenth of those killed by alcohol; and twenty times less than those killed by tobacco. "This achievement has been a century in the making: let's not unravel it by loosening controls on drug use", said Mr. Costa.

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