14/05/2007 00:00:00
Europe unites against cannabis in Istanbul
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In an effort to fight against drugs European leaders meet in Turkey, one
of Europe's major drug traffic hubs, to advocate a cannabis free world
The current international debate on cannabis zoomed in on Turkey, when
last week European mayors and municipal leaders combating drug abuse
gathered in Istanbul to lobby the U.S. government to continue its fight
against the legalization of cannabis and discuss the challenges that
drugs pose to their cities.
Turkey, straddling Asia and Europe, is a drug trafficking hub due to its
strategic location on the ‘Balkan Route' on which drugs are transported
from Afghanistan to Europe, but also on the ‘Synthetics Route' bringing
synthetic drugs, such as amphetamines and ecstasy, produced in Europe to
Saudi Arabia.
Yesterday alone, Bulgarian customs officers seized 48 kg of heroin
estimated to be worth some $3 million in a truck traveling from Turkey
to Macedonia, the customs office said on Sunday. This is the fifth time
Bulgaria has seized heroin at its Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint
with Turkey since the beginning of the year, the customs said.
Last year the Turkish Police confiscated 23,884 kilograms of cannabis.
Heroin confiscations came in second at 10,312 kilograms according to
figures in the 2006 Report on Drugs and Organized Crime by the Turkish
Ministry of Interior (KOM). The amount of hashish seized in Turkey
between 2004 and 2006 increased by 63 percent.
John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug
Control Policy (ONDCP), told the Turkish Daily News that Turkey's
relationship with the United States in the fight against drugs has been
outstanding. He hailed the efforts of the Turkish government to
harmonize anti-drug legislation with international laws. “This allows us
to use as many of the law enforcement tools in the world as we can to
fight against drugs … Turkey is a story of amazing success,” he said.
However, Tomas Hallberg, Director of European Cities Against Drugs
(ECAD), told the TDN that there was a real risk of a drug epidemic in
Turkey because it is a transit country. “There will be a drug market in
Turkey and the level of drug users can rise,” he said. Hallberg sited
the example of Pakistan which for a long time was just a drug conduit
without a real illegal drug consumption problem, and now is struggling
with increasing drug abuse cases.
Cannabis is the most widely used drug among teenagers. After cigarettes
and alcohol it is the most common introductory substance to a life of
addiction as it changes the wiring of the human brain.
When asked if the harmonization of laws with the European Union had
improved the drug forecast for Turkey Hallberg said: “The EU has a long
way to go in the fight against drugs. You cannot say there is an EU
policy against drugs,” explaining that this was due to the varied laws
in different countries.
Hallberg added that the ECAD drug policy was very simple and based on
United Nations' conventions. The gist of the policy is that “it should
be difficult to take drugs but easy to get treatment.”
Turkey currently has 17 drug treatment centers around the country, most
of which are managed by Turkey's Alcohol and Substance Addiction
Treatment and Training Center (AMATEM). While 2,078 individuals were
treated in the centers in 2005, there is no available data on the amount
of users, or distribution of drug use for 2006.
In the following months ECAD will conduct the European School Survey
Project on alcohol and other drugs in Istanbul in partnership with the
Istanbul Municipality, to measure the risk of drug abuse by surveying
youths between 15-16 years of age.
The United States drug czar John Walters said at the ECAD conference
held last week that the international drug problem has gone from
enormous growth to containment, thanks to international cooperation,
more of which is needed. He underlined, however, that although there was
broad consensus against the dangers of cocaine, synthetic drugs, and
heroin, “one area we have not had consensus is cannabis.”
Walters accused the Soros Foundation of undermining the policies of
anti-drug organizations by funding a worldwide campaign to legalize
cannabis claiming it is not worth fighting against.
The conference was organized by ECAD representing mayors and other local
officials in 250 municipalities located in 27 countries. It is leading
organization in Europe promoting a drug free continent. Istanbul
Municipality joined ECAD in 2005
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=72942
Source:
http://www.ukcia.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=12552
Author:
Turkish Daily News via UKCIA
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