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Drug Abuse and Drug Trafficking in Asia

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Handbook of Asian Criminology

Abstract

Asia, the world’s largest and most populous continent, has a long history of opium cultivation. The two largest opium and heroin producers, Afghanistan and Myanmar, are both located on the continent. Asia is also the largest cannabis producer in the world. After decades of changes in drug use culture, Asia, specifically Southeast Asia, is now the world’s largest amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) producer. Illicit drugs produced in Asia are consumed inside the region or trafficked to other continents, which raises the significant social, political, and legal consequences for Asia and beyond. The purpose of this chapter is to briefly provide historical background and current statistics for drug production, trafficking, and consumption in Asia; to discuss the consequent responses of the criminal justice system; and to access the effectiveness of ongoing anti-drug policies in selected countries.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    According to the reports from the United Nations, ATS refer to a group of synthetic substances comprising amphetamine, methamphetamine, methcathinone, and ecstasy-group substances (MDMA and its analogues). In different countries, ATS street names may differ (UNODC 2009b).

  2. 2.

    There are four countries in the Golden Triangle: Myanmar, also known as Burma, Lao PDR, Vietnam, and Thailand.

  3. 3.

     This estimation was based on the high resin yields measured in Afghanistan (145 kg/ha), which are four times higher than those in Morocco (36 kg/ha measured in 2005)—another major cannabis production country (UNODC 2010a).

  4. 4.

     For instance, countries in central Asia, on the major drug trafficking routes from Afghanistan to the Russian Federation and Europe, have seen national security at all levels impaired (Cornell 2005).

  5. 5.

     While cannabis production is found throughout most of Asia, it is not covered by World Drug Report 2010 because cannabis is mainly consumed locally in producer countries and is not subject to transnational market analysis (UNODC 2010a).

  6. 6.

    The average farm-gate price of dry opium at harvest time (weighted by production) in 2010 reached $169/kg (a 164% increase) compared to 2009. As a market response, the gross income for farmers also increased 36% (to $4,900) (UNODC 2010b).

  7. 7.

     Central Asian countries include Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan.

  8. 8.

     The Tajio population, situated mostly in the northern border area, constitutes 20–25% of Afghanistan’s population.

  9. 9.

    Ephedrine seizures, reported by India since 2002 (126 kg), reached their peak in 2008 (1,284 kg) (UNODC 2009b); in China, it was reported that a total of 1,113 tons of precursors were seized in 2008 (NNCC 2009).

  10. 10.

     Alternative precursors are also detected in MDMA manufacture and substitute drugs (such as safrole-rich oils from Southeast Asia), which are not under international control or regulated by Asian countries (UNODC 2010a).

  11. 11.

    DAINAP is an Internet-based drug use information system which has 11 participating countries, including 10 countries from the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) and China. Information from DAINAP was supplemented with data from government sources and secondary research.

  12. 12.

     Ketamine has also emerged as an adulterant in the manufacture of ecstasy in East and Southeast Asia (UNODC 2008).

  13. 13.

     The quantity of ketamine seized by Indian law enforcement has increased from 60 kg in 2005 to more than 1 mt in 2009 (UNODC 2010c).

  14. 14.

     Between 12.8 and 21.8 million people (0.3–0.5% of the world population aged 15–64) used opiates in 2008 (UNDOC 2010a). In Asia, opiate users were largely from East/Southeast Asia (2.83–5.06 million) (UNDOC 2010a).

  15. 15.

     Ecstasy users were also included in this category (between 10.5 and 25.8 million), but ketamine users were not counted (UNDOC 2010a).

  16. 16.

    While amphetamine is preferred in Europe, about half of the stimulant users in North America use methamphetamine (UNDOC 2009c).

  17. 17.

     UNODC defines “problem drug users”—those who inject drugs and/or are considered dependent, facing serious social and health consequences (UNODC 2010a, p. 16).

  18. 18.

     Between 12.8 and 21.8 million people (0.3–0.5% of the world population aged 15–64) used opiates in 2008 (UNDOC 2010a). In Asia, opiate users were largely from East/Southeast Asia (2.83–5.06 million) (UNDOC 2010a).

  19. 19.

     In Afghanistan, there are approximately one million adult drug users, who represent about 8% of the population aged 15–64 (UNDOC 2009a).

  20. 20.

     Countries participating in the project are Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam while government agencies in Australia, Brunei, Darussalam, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore participate in the network. The project is supported through funding provided by the governments of Australia and Japan (UNODC 2007).

  21. 21.

     The most common means of administration for ATS substances are smoking, snorting, and fume inhaling.

  22. 22.

     China, the United States, the Russian Federation, and Brazil together account for 45% of total IDUs (UNODC 2009c).

  23. 23.

    This report also included Eastern Europe and Latin America (Eastern Europe and Central Asia also had very high HIV infection rates).

  24. 24.

     Forced detoxification and labor are also commonplace inside these facilities (Harm Reduction International 2010).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. California State University, Stanislaus, CA, USA

    Huan Gao Ph.D.

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  1. Huan Gao Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Huan Gao Ph.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao, Macao

    Jianhong Liu

  2. Centre for Criminology and Criminal Just, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom

    Bill Hebenton

  3. School of Criminology, National Taipei University, Taipei, Taiwan R.O.C.

    Susyan Jou

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Gao, H. (2013). Drug Abuse and Drug Trafficking in Asia. In: Liu, J., Hebenton, B., Jou, S. (eds) Handbook of Asian Criminology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5218-8_8

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