The illicit drug trade touches millions of lives in both developed and
developing countries. Its most negative impact is concentrated amongst the vulnerable and marginalized of our societies. The UN estimates that some 180 million people worldwide T 4.2% of people aged 15 years and above T were consuming drugs in the late 1990s; this figure includes 144 million consuming cannabis, 29 million people consuming amphetamine-type stimulants, 14 million people taking cocaine and 13 million people abusing opiates, 9 million of whom were addicted to heroin. Economic reliance on the drug trade, and drug addiction, leaves many individuals open to
exploitation by criminals and criminal
organisations…
