and Other Drugs Asia and the Pacific - United Nations Office on ...

Global SMART Programme 2011
neighbouring Cambodia, Thail<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> Viet Nam
in recent years. As has previously been seen in
Indonesia, Malaysia <strong>and</strong> Cambodia, transit countries
for illicit drugs often rapidly develop illicit drug use
<strong>and</strong> manufacture problems. Lao PDR already has an
established <strong>and</strong> exp<strong>and</strong>ing domestic ATS market. In
addition, <strong>the</strong> country’s location (adjacent to major ATS
manufacturing sites in Myanmar) <strong>and</strong> its remote <strong>and</strong>
sparsely populated mountainous borderl<strong>and</strong>s, where
law enforcement capacity is limited, make <strong>the</strong> country
vulnerable to <strong>the</strong> displacement of methamphetamine
manufacturing facilities from Myanmar. Although no
ATS manufacture has been reported from Lao PDR,
transnational drug trafficking networks, including
groups from Myanmar, are well established in <strong>the</strong>
country.
8. Arrests <strong>and</strong> drug treatment dem<strong>and</strong> related
to methamphetamine show an upward trend.
Methamphetamine-related arrests in East <strong>and</strong> South-
East <strong>Asia</strong> have increased each year since 2004. In
2010, nearly 218,000 arrests in <strong>the</strong> region involved
methamphetamine, a 19% increase from <strong>the</strong> previous
year. In 2010, methamphetamine accounted for
roughly 70% or more of all drug-related arrests in
Brunei Darussalam (87%), Japan (83%), Philippines
(77%), <strong>the</strong> Republic of Korea (70%) <strong>and</strong> Thail<strong>and</strong>
(80%). The large majority of <strong>the</strong> persons arrested were
drug users. In several countries in <strong>the</strong> region, arrested
drug users are sent to compulsory drug treatment
facilities, most of which do not provide ATS-specific
treatment services. Most drug treatment services in
<strong>the</strong> region are aimed at users of heroin, opium <strong>and</strong>
cannabis. ATS were <strong>the</strong> primary drugs of use for 44%
of all persons in treatment in 2010. During <strong>the</strong> year, of
all persons in drug treatment in <strong>the</strong> Philippines, 60%
were crystalline methamphetamine users. In Thail<strong>and</strong>,
84% were methamphetamine pill users. Most persons
who underwent drug treatment in Cambodia used
methamphetamine in pill <strong>and</strong> crystalline form. In
Brunei Darussalam <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Republic of Korea, more
than 98% of all persons in drug treatment used
crystalline methamphetamine.
9. The transmission of blood-borne diseases,
including HIV, through <strong>the</strong> injecting use of
methamphetamine remains a risk in <strong>the</strong> region.
Although <strong>the</strong> level of injecting methamphetamine
use remains at far lower levels than <strong>the</strong> injecting use
of heroin in <strong>the</strong> region, <strong>the</strong>re are indicators which
suggest that injecting drug users are increasingly
injecting methamphetamine. This poses a particular
risk in countries which have concentrated HIV
epidemics, some of which are being driven largely
by <strong>the</strong> unsafe injection of drugs. Of <strong>the</strong> population
living with HIV in Indonesia, an estimated 28% are
injecting drug users (IDUs). In addition, an estimated
one half of all IDUs in <strong>the</strong> country are infected with
HIV. Injection is <strong>the</strong> second most common mode
of administration for crystalline methamphetamine
in Indonesia. In Thail<strong>and</strong>, injection is <strong>the</strong> second
most common mode of administration for crystalline
methamphetamine <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> third most common
mode for methamphetamine pills. The estimated
HIV prevalence among IDUs in Thail<strong>and</strong> was 48-
52% during <strong>the</strong> 2008-2009 period.
In Malaysia, <strong>the</strong>re are some indications that injecting
use of methamphetamine is taking place, although
no injecting methamphetamine users have been
registered in drug treatment facilities. However,
injecting drug use is reported as <strong>the</strong> primary mode of
HIV transmission. Cumulative reported cases of HIV
transmission in Malaysia have been predominantly
through drug use (71.6% of all HIV cases). The
injecting use of methamphetamine was first reported
in Lao PDR in 2008, although this practice remains
limited in <strong>the</strong> country. In Singapore, injection is <strong>the</strong>
secondary mode of administration for crystalline
methamphetamine.
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine use – All countries in <strong>the</strong> region
report <strong>the</strong> use of methamphetamine, with 11 countries
reporting it as <strong>the</strong> primary or secondary drug
of use. Seven countries reported <strong>the</strong> use of methamphetamine
pills while all but two countries (Lao PDR
<strong>and</strong> Myanmar) reported <strong>the</strong> use of crystalline methamphetamine.
Crystalline methamphetamine has become more
widespread across <strong>the</strong> region. In 2010, increasing
use of crystalline methamphetamine was reported by
Government experts in Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia,
China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thail<strong>and</strong>
<strong>and</strong> Viet Nam.
In Australia, Japan, New Zeal<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Republic
of Korea, methamphetamine use has shown stable
or declining trends over <strong>the</strong> past few years. Methampheamine
in crystalline form is <strong>the</strong> most common
form of <strong>the</strong> drug in Japan <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Republic of Korea
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