global illicit drug trends 2003 - United Nations Office on Drugs and ...

Global Illicit Drug Trends <strong>2003</strong>
Chapter 1. Trends: Production
Number of laboratories
also reported to operate in Moscow and in other
towns. The number of dismantled clandestine
laboratories producing methamphetamine and
methcathinone, totaling 71 in 2001, accounted for
about 10% of all clandestine laboratories detected
in that year, up from 6% or 17 detected
laboratories in 1993, suggesting that the
importance of <strong>illicit</strong> methamphetamine/
methcathinone production in the Russian
Federation has been rising. Data on the number of
registered <strong>drug</strong> abusers also point in this direction.
Seizures of ephedrine made by the Russian
authorities accounted for 81% of all ephedrine
seizures made in Europe over the 1996-2001
period (80% of all ephedrine and pseudoephedrine
seizures), or for 9% of the world’s
ephedrine seizures. No seizures of P2P were
reported by the Russian authorities over the last
decade, suggesting that the production of
amphetamine, in contrast, is not widespread in
Russia.
80
60
40
20
0
Detection of clandestine laboratories
producing methamphetamine and
methcathinone in the Russian Federation
17
56
59
71
1993 1999 2000 2001
Source: UNODC, Russia Country Profile 2002.
Seizures of ephedrine in Europe
N = 1.4 tons p.a. (1996-2001)
Russian
Fed.
81%
Other
7%
Czech Rep
12%
Africa
Methamphetamine production in Africa seems to
be limited to a few countries, notably Egypt and
South Africa, which reported seizures of
laboratories in recent years. In addition, Cote
d’Ivoire and Zambia reported seizures of
ephedrine and Algeria and Uganda seizures of
pseudoephedrine in recent years. This is a
possible indication that methamphetamine
production also takes place in other African
countries. Quantities seized were, however, rather
small.
In Egypt, a pharmaceutical preparation of
dexamfetamine, produced in Europe, known
under the name of Maxiton Forte, became popular
and was increasingly abused, prompting the
Government to prohibit imports of the substance.
Subsequently, domestic clandestine production of
ATS began and reached important magnitudes in
the late 1980s/early 1990s. Since the mid-1980s,
Egypt continuously reported the clandestine
manufacture of Maxiton Forte to UNODC. Given
the use of ephedrine as the main precursor in the
detected clandestine laboratories, it is likely that
the ATS produced was methamphetamine. The
last detection of a clandestine Maxiton Forte
laboratory, in Egypt was in 1999.
A limited number of methamphetamine
laboratories were also seized in the Republic of
South Africa, which also consistently reported
seizures of small quantities of ephedrine, since
the mid-1990s
Trafficking and abuse of amphetamine-type
stimulants is reported to be widespread in Central
and West Africa. 7 They are apparently mostly
diverted from legal sources and supplied through
parallel markets across Africa. This reduces the
incentive for clandestine production of ATS in
most African countries. South Africa, which has
the most advanced monitoring system of the use
of psychotropics in Africa and is thus faced with
comparatively small levels of diversions of (legal)
stimulants, compared to other African countries,
showed an overall consumption of (legal)
stimulants of 7.2 defined daily doses (DDD) per
1000 inhabitants per day over the 1999-2001
period. This was almost four times the median
value (1.9 DDD per 1000 inhabitants) of 45
countries investigated by the INCB. Similarly high
or higher levels of ATS consumption could be
expected for many other African countries that
have far less effective controls in place.
Source: INCB, 2002 Precursors, New York <strong>2003</strong> and
previous years.
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