The report noted that production of cocaine and opiates was down in 2008. In
Weak Countries Targets
“As long as demand for drugs persists, weak countries will always be targeted by traffickers,” said UNODC head Antonio Maria Costa. “If Europe really wants to help
While UNODC does not recommend the legalization of drugs, it did recommend that drug use should be treated as an illness. “People who take drugs need medical help, not criminal retribution,” Costa said. He called for universal access to drug treatment.
Costa also called on governments to enforce international agreements against organized crime, and encouraged police to focus on the small number of high-profile, violent criminals rather than large numbers of petty offenders. “Go after the piranhas, not the minnows,” he said, noting that in some countries the ratio of those imprisoned for drug use compared to those imprisoned for drug trafficking is 5-1.
-- Beth Kampschror