Vienna (dpa) - New drugs that evade legal bans are being developed
at such a rate that they now outnumber illegal substances, the UN
Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said Wednesday in Vienna.
Such "legal highs" mimic the effects of existing drugs like
amphetamine, cannabis or khat but can be far more dangerous, as
little is known about their side effects and their potential to cause
addiction, the UNODC said in its annual report.
Countries had reported 251 new substances to the Vienna-based UN
agency by mid-2012, more than the 234 drugs that are banned under
international treaties.
"The international drug control system is floundering, for the
first time, under the speed and creativity of the phenomenon known as
new psychoactive substances," the UNODC said.
Governments around the world have found it hard to outlaw these
so-called designer drugs, because their chemical formulas are
different from traditional substances.
Most of the new substances are made in Asia and Europe.
In the European Union, nearly one in every 20 young people has
tried new drugs that are often sold as herbs or bath salts, the
report said.
Meanwhile, use of traditional drugs such as heroin, cocaine and
amphetamine remained stable, even though the UNDOC highlighted some
worrying trends.
As opium production in South-East Asia is not keeping pace with
Asian demand for heroin in countries like China, more Afghan opium is
making its way eastwards, the report said.
Afghanistan remained the world's largest opium producer last year
and poppy was grown on more and more fields. However, output fell due
to a plant disease.
New data showed that the global number of people who inject drugs
and are infected with HIV was only 1.6 million in 2011, 46 per cent
below previous estimates.
Cultivation of coca remained stable in South America in 2011,
according to the latest available data.
At the same time, the UNODC said cocaine was also shifting from
Western countries to Asian markets such as Hong Kong and China, where
it is seen as a lifestyle drug, and to Central America, where it is
used along trafficking routes.
Copyright 2013 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH