Drug Problem in Russia

â€Å"Illicit drugs destroy innumerable individual lives and undermine our society†(Kofi Annan). The Peoples Republic of China believes that United Nations International Drug Control Program has to immediately attack the problem of drugs on the four fronts: the manufacture, trafficking, and the abuse of illegal drugs, and rehabilitation of addicts. China is a producer of precursor chemicals. The plant Ephedraplant that grows wild in north China can be turned into the precursor chemical ephedrine. The Peoples Republic also exports Potassium Permanganate. It can be legally exported, but is usually exported in bulk by kingpins to cocaine producing countries. Potassium Permanganate is a necessary ingredient in the production of cocaine. In 1998 300 tons of precursor chemicals were seized in China. The production of Methamphetamine is becoming a major problem. We produces limited amounts of opium for domestic consumption. The Peoples Republic monitors all 28-precursor chemicals listed in the 1988 UN Drug Convention. In 1998 there were 540,000 people addicted to drugs in China. The most common addictions were to heroin, opium, stimulates, and depressants. The majority of the problem is with our younger population. 80 percent of the addictions occur with those under the age 35. The Peoples Republic operates 600-drug treatment centers nation wide. These drug centers work on the â€Å"cold turkey† approach to break their drug habits. Illicit drug use was virtually eliminated in the Peoples Republic after a massive campaign launched by the central government in the early 1950s. In the early 1980s when the Peoples Republic ended its isolationism and opened up to the outside world drug trafficking and addiction revived. The death penalty can be handed down to criminals trafficking 10 grams of heroin and 15 years in jail for those caught with 50 grams of opium. The Chinese government has established a Counter Narcotics Bureau in the Ministry of Public Security to aid in anti-drug efforts. In February 1998 the government started a major drug education program aimed at preventing drug use. The Peoples Republic has provided support to the UN sponsored initiative that provides farmers in Burma and Laos seeds, fertilizer, and a constant market to sell their product. This initiative is to encourage Burma and Laos to switch from cultivating opium to producing cash crops and food grains. From what the Peoples Republic has documented, this program has significantly resulted in the decrease in poppy production in observed areas. China is a major transit route for Southeast Asian heroin destined for western markets. The Peoples Republic is located in the â€Å"Golden Triangle†, consisting of the countries Burma, Vietnam, and Laos. Burma's drug traffickers use the 2,000-kilometer border with the Peoples Republic. 90% of the heroin flowing into the Peoples Republic can be tracked back to Burma. Peoples Republic law prohibits the laundering of proceeds from drug trafficking, but banking and legal regulations are usually behind the fast paced progression of the traffickers. Hong Kong, a major Asian financial center, is extremely vulnerable to the use of its banking and financing systems for laundering of drug money. To solve this problem the Peoples Republic suggests that the first step in solving the drug problem is that there needs dialogue with governments. The only lasting progress that can be made to fight drug abuse and trafficking depends on strong commitment to the cause on both regional and worldwide levels. The main key to prevent demand is education. Education has worked for China on the Yunnan province where children in the junior secondary level (age 11-13) conduct educational talks about drugs and do activities. To reinforce the education they bombard the media with public service announcements, documentary dramas featuring real cases of drug addicts for broadcasting during prime time on local television. The second front is the supply of the drugs to the consumers. The main solution is crop substitution. The basis of crop substitution is that the government provides the tools, the seeds, and some fertilizer. Then the government has to provide a market place that they can sell their goods. The main reason this will work that the producers will now be making money off of legitimate cash crops instead of narcotics. The third problem is the trafficking of drugs across many countries borders. The way to solve the problem is to go directly to the source and never let the drugs leave the country. The way to do this is to set up an international task force on drug suppression. With the availability of the internet governments can link information quickly to suppress trafficking. Then governments can collaborate on control missions to stop the drugs from leaving the source countries. The third problem is treatment and rehabilitation. This is less of a worldwide problem then it is a national one. Following what The Peoples Republic has done, the countries of the world could set up national clinics for detoxification and removal of their chemical dependencies. China has 600 clinics suggesting that larger countries have more and smaller countries have fewer centers. The distinguished country of the Netherlands feels that drugs are not the consumer's fault, but the traffickers so they try to prosecute the traffickers. Contrary to their logic drugs are everyone's problems and should be dealt with that way. The distinguished country of Saudi Arabia has a zero tolerance for drugs. The mentally deficient thinking on his or her part that not everyone is entitled to a fair trial is also bad logic. The Peoples Republic allows all the accused to have a trial and China suggests that the world keep this mandate and not just run off and kill some people. The drug phenomenon is a unique problem in the way it plagues out society. It endangers the heath of individuals, political and economical development, and the safety and security of the government. Narcotics are one of the major problems plaguing the world today. This problem must be combated now and with full cooperation of all governments of the world if anyone ever wants to control the drug problem.