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International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking 
S.Vijay KumarAsst.Professor HR &OBGITAM Inst.Of Management GITAM Univesrity Indiavijays@gitam.edu
The global war against drug abuse and illicit trafficking has gained momentumover the years. To marshal worldwide support for the control over drugs, the
26
th
of June
every year is devoted to the cause, known as the
International Dayagainst Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
Undoubtedly, drugs can holdindividuals to ransom, triggering a negative effect on an entire family andcommunity. In effect, drugs can control life. The profound slogan,
“Do drugscontrol your life? Your community? No place for drugs"
encapsulates the resolve to fight drug abuse and illicit trafficking.
200 million people worldwide are slaves to drugs
• 162 million swear by cannabis -marihuana, hashish, THC.• 35 million would do anything for ATS – ecstasy, methamphetamine,amphetamine,methcathinone.• 16 million use opiates -opium, morphine, heroin, synthetic opiates• 13 million use cocaine 
 How has the drug trade penetrated to such mammoth proportions?
Drugs have an effect on the mind and body. To support the demand for drugs,the nexus of farmers, global drug cartels and middlemen ‘sow the seeds’, leavingno stone unturned to perpetuate this nefarious trade. The drug racket needs to bebusted, which is what the anti-drug campaigns are constantly striving to do –yet none other than society and individuals can help meet these objectives.
Bust the Racket
Three multilateral drug treaties form the edifice of international drug control andUNODC (UN Office on Drugs and Crime) initiatives. The efforts of UNODCstrive to bring control on three key facets which is drug abuse, production andtrafficking of illicit drugs. Illicit drugs are defined by the UNODC as drugs of the
 
type - amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS), sedative hypnotics, opiates,cannabis, and hallucinogens.UN General Assembly, in 1998 framed a defining statement conveying the extentof the global drug menace- it said
 , “Drugs destroy lives and communities, underminesustainable human development and generate crime. Drugs affect all sectors of society inall countries; in particular, drug abuse affects the freedom and development of young people, the world’s most valuable asset."
 
Mean Business
A recent UN report has portrayed the alarming increase in the drug smugglingtrade, especially heroin, which is smuggled into India from Pakistan. Theconsumption of cocaine in Western Europe is also steadily increasing. Asia isgrappling with increasing levels of ATS use. Afghanistan, the highest producerof opium in the world, has become a hub for illicit drug trafficking.Another worrying trend is the trafficking of pharmaceuticals into India fromother South Asian countries. The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB)has blamed the gangs from West African countries for making India a transitpoint for movement of drug consignments to Europe.Rajiv Walia, project coordinator in the Regional Office for South Asia of the UNOffice on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said, “Law enforcement agencies in thenorth-western parts of India are seizing ever increasing quantities of heroinoriginating in Afghanistan and coming via Pakistan en route to Europe. SouthAsia is being targeted for cocaine trafficking, with West African gangs bringing ithere and exchanging it for heroin that they smuggle into Europe”.Many illegally manufactured pharmaceutical preparations like buprenorphine,codeine-based syrups, benzodiazepines are illegally trafficked from India andsmuggled into Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka. From these countries,the illicit pharmaceutical medicines make their way to North America andEurope.Courier companies are being used to smuggle illicit drugs. In July 2007, twoparcels meant for Canada and South Africa containing more than 1kg of heroinwere intercepted in India. 
Internet Abets Drug Trafficking 
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