EDITORIAL
DRUG ADDICTION DESTROYS OUR FUTURE
At a press launch in Thailand of the General Assembly Special Session
on the world drug problem, the Rector of Rajabhat Institute, Bangkok,
made a very poignant remark: "The sluggish economy, unemployment
and drugs are this country's worst scourges". The tragedy is that
as developing countries progress, their efforts are hampered by
a problem as old as time: drug consumption and production. What
is even worse: drug addiction destroys young people who are a country's
future.
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan told the Assembly that there
are 190 million drug users and about 30 million are addicts. He
also warned that we might fail in our attempt to turn the tide but
at least we would have tried. A side issue to the conference was
another thorny subject-- "money laundering". Mr Annan said IMF figures
showed about 4 to 5 per cent of "illicit" money in the world was
being laundered. He urged countries to develop laws to combat this.
Perhaps for the first time in U.N. history, consensus was reached
on how to tackle the problems months before the countries gathered
in New York.
This is all good news. Now we hope this evil trade will feel the
heat. Then we can turn to the urgent problems: improving people's
livelihood.
David Lazarus, Chief, UNIS Bangkok.
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