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Drug Production Worldwide:Burma [So



Subject: Drug Production Worldwide:Burma [Source:UNESCO/Interpol]

A Reminder to BurmaNetters and BurmaWatchers!The following is a file on drug
production worldwide especially from Burma.

Sincerely,

Julien Moe
------------------
Drug Production Worlwide:Burma
Source:UNESCO/Interpol
1998 Report

PRODUCTION 

Heroin: the poppy fields of the Golden Triangle (Burma, Laos, Thailand)
produce
annually some 2,500 tons of opium likely to yield 250 tons of heroin.A
similar amount is
produced in the Golden Crescent (Afghanistan, Pakistan). Poppy cultivation
is on the rise
in Latin America (100 or so tons of opium annually or lo tons of heroin) and
Central Asia.
Cocaine: according to Interpol, coca plantations in the Andean countries
(Peru, Bolivia,
Colombia) supply 7oo to 1,3oo tons of cocaine chlorhydrate a year. 

Cannabis: cannabis resin, or hashish, is produced in Morocco (2,000 to to
2,500 tons)
and Pakistan/Afghanistan (over 2,000 tons). Cannabis herb, or marijuana, is
produced
worldwide. The World Customs Organization reports the seizure of 513 tons in
1997. 

CONSUMPTION 

There is no truly reliable estimate of worldwide consumption of illicit
substances. The
United Nations puts forward the figures of eight million heroin addicts,
13.3 million cocaine
addicts, 141.2 million users of cannabis derivatives and over 280 million
consumers of
synthetic drugs (hallucinogens, amphetamines) and various drugs that are
used for other
than therapeutic purposes (sedatives). 

ILLICIT REVENUES 

The annual global turnover of the illicit drug trade is put at approximately
$400 billion, or
around 8% of the total value of international trade. Profit margins vary
depending on the
product. They range from 100% for heroin to 300% for wholesale crack, a
form of
cocaine that can be smoked.