Methamphetamine

At a meeting in Myanmar Thursday, China and five Southeast Asian nations vowed to redouble their efforts and boost cooperation in an effort to get a grip on illegal drug use and trafficking, which they called "a significant threat" to the region.

[image:1 align:left caption:true]China was joined by Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam), along with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), for the Ministerial Meeting of the Signatory Countries to the 1993 Memorandum of Understanding on Drug Control in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region.

"Consumption and production of narcotic drugs continues to grow rapidly within the region and worldwide, constituting a significant threat to the East Asian region," according to a joint statement adopted at the meeting.

The countries and the UNODC pledged to heighten cross-border cooperation, examine alternative development programs, and share experiences in drug treatment, prevention, and public awareness.

"This agreement marks the continued commitment of the six MOU countries in supporting drug control in the region, and the celebration of 20 years of partnership and collaboration," said Myanmar representative Home Affairs Minister Lt. Gen. Ko Ko at the signing ceremony. "The MOU Member States re-affirm our commitment and assure the international community of our efforts to eliminate the drug problem in our region."

Southeast Asia has been a hotbed of methamphetamine production in recent years, and Myanmar is now the world's second largest producer of opium -- although its production is only about one-tenth that of world leader Afghanistan.

"Major challenges persist," said John Sandage, UNODC director of treaty affairs. "The resurgence of opium poppy cultivation, the dramatic spread of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS), the influx of drugs new to the region and increased levels of addiction. UNODC looks forward to working with the MOU states to implement plans that help us better understand the threat and challenges, build technical capacity and lead to greater cooperation across borders and among agencies."

Seattle Times, 09 May 2013 - IN their meeting last week, President Obama and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto had a chance to consider marijuana legalization. Millions of Americans are ready for this, at least as an option for the states. Mexicans have suffered 60,000 drug-related murders in the past seven years and should be open to such a policy. But Obama and Pena Nieto made no move to consider it.

The Sonoma Index-Tribune, 07 May 2013 - Statistics rarely reveal the entire truth about anything, and numbers can be compiled and interpreted to confirm different conclusions from the same set of facts. But that caveat notwithstanding, virtually any statistical analysis of the war on drugs leads to an inescapable conclusion: It has been a hopeless failure.

New Zealand Herald, 26 Apr 2013 - Despite promises, no money from crims' assets has gone to alcohol and drug treatment. Not one cent of the millions of dollars worth of assets seized from criminals has been funnelled into drug treatment or resources to fight organised crime as promised when the enabling law came into force.

The News Courier, 18 Apr 2013 - Two mothers accused of giving birth to babies who tested positive for illegal drugs have been charged with chemical endangerment of a child, an official said. O n Wednesday, Limes tone County Sheriff's investigators arrested Angel Nichole Queen, 32, of 27035 Persimmon Tree Road in Limestone County, records show. When Queen gave birth to her son Jan. 30, both she and her son tested positive for methamphetamine, Limestone County Chief Investigator Stanley McNatt said. While being interviewed by investigators, Queen admitted she had used meth a few times during her pregnancy, McNatt said. The Limestone County Department of Human Resources reported the incident to the Sheriff's Department.

The Durango Herald, 14 Apr 2013 - Issue Is Cloudy in Colorado, Several Other States Everyone shopping for a gun has to fill out federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives form 4473. One question on the form is simple: "Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?"

Ely Times, 12 Apr 2013 - The clock is ticking on AB 402, which would legalize, regulate and tax marijuana. The bill had a hearing last Friday that drew debate from proponents and opponents of legalizing the drug. Washington and Colorado have legalized marijuana in the past. "I'll tell you they're doing some swapping in the hallways to get it out," Assemblyman John Ellison said.

Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel dominates the methamphetamine trade in the Asia-Pacific-Mexico-US area, controlling 80% of the market, according to a Mexican security report released this week.

[image:1 align:right caption:true]The report, "Methamphetamine Traffic: Asia-Mexico-United States," by researcher Jose Luis León, was presented as part of the 2012 Security and Defense Atlas of Mexico (both are in Spanish), which was released this week. It estimates the Sinaloa Cartel's take from meth sales at about $3 billion a year.

The Sinaloa Cartel, Mexico's most powerful, is headed by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, one of the world's wealthiest criminals, as well as Mexico's most wanted fugitive. Guzman has eluded capture since escaping from a Mexican prison in 2001. The US Treasury Department considers Guzman the most powerful drug trafficker in the world.

The Sinaloa Cartel has been a leading actor in the prohibition-related violence that has plagued Mexico, especially since former President Felipe Calderon declared war on the cartels in December 2006. At least 70,000 have been killed in the violence, much of which pits the Sinaloa Cartel against national-level competitors such as the Zetas, as well as against regionally-based rivals.

"The Sinaloa cartel is an authentic global enterprise since both their markets and products exhibit a high degree of diversification," León said in his report.

In addition to methamphetamine, the Sinaloa Cartel traffics cocaine, marijuana, and opiates throughout North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. It also purchases precursor chemicals from China, India, and Thailand, which in uses in drug production laboratories hidden away in the cartel's Western Mexican heartland.

Kansas State Collegian, 01 Apr 2013 - An oft-touted solution to many national problems is to legalize drugs and regulate them, thus providing a new source of revenue. People wouldn't be put in jail for drugs, so they could get on with their lives and get jobs. It's supposedly a win-win situation. However, the legalization of drugs would have several bad consequences that do not get mentioned because of how appealing the potential revenue sounds. Regulation would still cost money. Take methamphetamine, for example - the cost of police enforcement would not disappear just because citizens aren't being arrested for possession. Decriminalization could never make it legal or safe for a meth lab to be running in a residential area. The chemicals used to cook meth are at great risk of exploding in the process. Even if meth was legal, the dangers of someone wanting homemade instead of store-bought meth would continue. The police would still have to find and shut down meth labs.