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Previous issue of The Observer News 

Surveys indicate the age of first use of cigarettes is significantly lower than the age of first use of marijuana

By Rubén Cobas, Chief, Statistics CICAD/OID

The surveys show that initial contact with legal drugs occurs at an early age, in the first stage of adolescence (on average between the ages of 12 and 14).  The use of illegal drugs comes later.

Although student use of legal drugs does not inevitably lead to the use of illegal drugs, it can be said that such use makes it easier to take the next step, even if that step is not always taken.  It is not a determinant, but does increase the risk, of such drug use.  Picking up habits like smoking can lead adolescents to search for new experiences with other substances.

The age of first use of illicit drugs by students varies from one country to the next, but the average is close to 14, whereas for legal drugs, such as cigarettes and alcohol, the average is between 12 and 13.

As shown in the following graph, the age of first use of cigarettes is significantly lower than the age of first use of marijuana.

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A haze of misinformation

Spanish experts discuss use  

Creation and Development of Financial Intelligence Units in South America

By Rodolfo Uribe, Project Coordinator, Financial Intelligence Units
South America – OAS/CICAD /IDB

With today’s financial management technology, money is simply information on a computer screen.  One minute it is in an off-shore account, and in the next, it has moved to the financial market of a poor South American country.  Gone are the days when it was necessary to prove physical possession of something illicit, or illicitly obtained, to commit the offense, and the days when money laundering was just another way to get rich: similar or identical methods are used to finance terrorism and criminal groups seeking to destabilize the social, political, and economic foundations of our countries. What has not changed is the transnational character of money laundering: if it starts in one country, it will surely culminate in another.  It must therefore be addressed on a cooperative international basis, in the form of agreements to share information leading to its detection and prevention.

Measures to help prevent, investigate, and prosecute money laundering should be taken in a concerted, harmonious manner by all governments.

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A Haze of Misinformation Clouds Issue of Medical Marijuana

By Andrea Barthwell, Deputy Director 
 White House Office of National Drug Control Policy

Marijuana, whatever its value, is intoxicating, and it's not surprising that sincere people will report relief of their symptoms when they smoke it. The important point is that there is a difference between feeling better and actually getting better. It is the job of modern medicine to establish this distinction.

The debate over drug use generates a great deal of media attention—including the focus on the administration's appeal this month to the U.S. Supreme Court against medical marijuana—and frequent misinformation. Some will have read, for instance, that the medicinal value of smoking marijuana represents "mainstream medical opinion." It is time to set the record straight.

Simply put, there is no scientific evidence that qualifies smoked marijuana to be called medicine. Further, there is no support in the medical literature that marijuana, or indeed any medicine, should be smoked as the preferred form of administration. The harms to health are simply too great.

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Spanish experts discuss the use of medical marihuana

Published by RIOD - Noticias Actuales (Spanish only)
http://www.riod.org/asps/pre_listado.asp?n=2&p=33&f1=&f2=&Tit=&Tex=&Y=&pas=

Date: 05/09/2003      Correspondent: Comunicación ( RIOD )   Source: Diario de León 

"Inhaling a toxic substance is, by definition, unacceptable," stated Pedro Lorenzo,  Dean and director of the pharmacology department in the University Complutense of Madrid.  He added "The most dangerous aspect of this issue is that  youth will get confused by this message and think that smoking a joint is the best  thing you could do for your health." 

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Global survey on ecstasy and amphetamines reveals alarming abuse
and trafficking patterns

Published by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime  

VIENNA/ROME, 23 September (UN Information Service)  --  The first-ever UN global survey on ecstasy and amphetamines, released in Rome today, reveals a striking picture of increase in production, trafficking and abuse of synthetic drugs worldwide:

• Over the last decade, the seizures of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) have risen tenfold from about 4 tons in 1990/91 to almost 40 tons in 2000/01;
• Estimated production has reached more than 500 tons a year;
• Abuse is spreading at an alarming rate, with more than 40 million people having used them over the past 12 months.

"ATS are emerging as a 'public enemy number one' among illicit drugs. Neglected by societies as an almost acceptable feature of the 'let's-have-fun' culture in clubs and dance settings, synthetic drugs abuse begins with experimental use among mostly young people. Gradually, it may lead to dangerous polydrug use and addiction, with severe health consequences," said Mr. Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). He was presenting the Ecstasy and Amphetamines Global Survey 2003 in a press conference, hosted by Mr. Gianfranco Fini, Vice President of the Council of Ministers of Italy at Palazzo Chigi in Rome.

The survey also reveals the serious health implications of chronic use of amphetamine and methamphetamine including dependence, characterized by compulsive drug seeking and psychoses. Symptoms such as confusion, delirium and panic, as well as all kinds of hallucinations follow. Worrying health implications of Ecstasy include Neurotoxicity, an early decline in mental function and memory, or the onset of Alzheimer-type symptoms.

The report reviews the production, trafficking and abuse of ATS, region by region. Methamphetamines are found to be the most intensely used in North America and East Asia, amphetamines in Europe – East and West. Ecstasy is mainly produced in Europe and consumed globally.

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Colombian Observatory on Drugs 

http://www.dne.gov.co/contenido.php?sid=154

The Colombian Observatory on Drugs has been created as a center of knowledge which allows for a better understanding of the different manifestations of the drug problem while at the same contributing to the development of policies, plans and programs to face the drug problem in an integral manner.

Information Resources

• Demand and Supply Statistics

• Publications 

For more information, visit the website of the Colombian Observatory on Drugs 

This quarterly newsletter is published electronically and  circulated to encourage discussion and comment. The findings, interpretations, judgments, and conclusions expressed in this newsletter are those of the author(s) and should not be attributed to CICAD/OAS.