European UpdateEuropean UnionWith the deadline for implementing Directive2011/62/EC on falsified medicines fast approaching,pharmaceutical industry experts are praising it as auseful tool for tackling the growing threat that theyface from counterfeit drugs.http://www.europolitics.info/social/solid-industry-backing-for-falsified-medicines-directive-art344518-26.htmlEMCDDAAround one in 10 of all drug users entering treatmentfor their substance use lives with at least one child.And in the last five years, the number of those enter-ing drug treatment who report living with children hasbeen growing. In a new report the EU drugs agency(EMCDDA) provides the first European overview ofthe programmes, laws and policies in place to assistpregnant drug users, drug-using parents and theirchildren. Based on data from 23 countries, it con-cludes that, while an array of responses exists, thereis still room for improvement.http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/news/2012/9IrelandFormer Mountjoy Prison governor John Lonerganhas helped launch a drug awareness music video fordistribution in schools and promotion online. The10-minute video, Why Do You Make Me Cry? wasmade by 22 girls and boys aged 12-17 and tells thetragic story of a young man who dies of drug abuse.http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/1024/1224325627426.htmlItalyItaly has measurable levels of cocaine in the air ineight of its major cities, according to a study. Italy'sInstitute of Atmospheric Pollution Research foundtrace levels of cocaine and cannabanoids from mari-juana use in Rome, Palermo, Bologna, Florence,Turin, Milan, Verona and Naples.http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/weird-wide-web/italian-cocaine-italy-drugs-rome-palermo-bologna-florenceItalyA joint initiative in Rome between UNODC and Italy'sDepartment for Anti-Drug Policies entitled

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"Prevention Strategy and Policymakers". The initia-tive will provide access to UNODC internationalstandards on drug use prevention, which are to belaunched at a later date, as well as support evi-dence-based national drug prevention systems.The standards are being drafted to offer guidanceon policies and interventions that can be used toprevent drug use and promote healthy lifestyles,particularly among young people.http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2012/September/unodc-and-italy-launch-initiative-to-promote-international-standards-on-drug-use-prevention.htmlThe NetherlandsAmsterdam Mayor Eberhard van der Laan hasannounced that the city’s cannabis cafes will re-main open next year after plans to reduce drugtourism were dropped. He made the decision aftertaking into account the unintended consequencesfrom the ban – like the revival of trade on the blackmarket. He noted that the current system allowsthe government to monitor the quality of soft drugs,as well as to limit access to the coffee shops toconsumers aged 18 and older.http://news.carrentals.co.uk/amsterdams-cannabis-cafes-to-welcome-tourists-34264901.htmlUnited KingdomTwo substances which are said to give users dan-gerous "legal highs" are to be made illegal class Bdrugs - with users facing up to five years in jail.Crime Prevention Minister Jeremy Browne saysblack mamba and methoxetamine, often known asmexxy, will be banned.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20163832United KingdomAbout 100 members of the Somali community havedemonstrated outside Downing Street to call on thegovernment to ban a herbal high. Khat, which isillegal in the US and many countries in Europe, hasbeen chewed for centuries in east Africa and theMiddle East. The campaigners said it caused med-ical problems and family breakdowns.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-20166507

World UpdateUNODCNew drugs have always appeared on illicit drugmarkets. No figures are available at the globallevel, however, owing to the absence of an earlywarning system . To fill this gap, UNODC operatesa global network of drug-testing laboratoriesthrough which, for the first time, allows laboratoriesfrom around the globe to monitor their performancein drug testing.http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2012/November/tracking-designer-drugs-legal-highs-and-bath-salts.htmlAfricaA crackdown in 16 African countries netted 82million doses of illegal or counterfeit drugs, includ-ing antibiotics, contraceptives and malaria treat-ments, the World Customs Organisation said. Theoperation, ‘Vice Grips 2’, was carried in 16 ports.http://www.gazettebw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15351:fake-medicines-seized-in-africa&catid=13:business&Itemid=2AlgeriaA 165kg haul of cocaine in Algeria found in a NewZealand container. Algerian officials intercepted thedrugs in a shipping container supposed to be carry-ing milk powder from New Zealand, which had alsostopped in Panama and Valencia, Spain.http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10844314ArgentinaThe alleged leader of a Colombian drug traffickingand organized crime network was arrested outsidea restaurant in suburban Buenos Aires after Colom-bian police tracked him around South America.Carrying false passports from five countries andposing as a Venezuelan businessman, Henry deJesus Lopez, aka "Mi Sangre," or "My Blood," wasfinally captured along with a bodyguard.http://www.kypost.com/dpps/news/world/Alleged-cocaine-trafficker-caught-in-Argentina_7971084ChinaTwo men have been arrested at Shenzhen Interna-tional Airport after being discovered in possessionof over 3,000 grams of heroin, worth an estimated2.25 million RMB. The passengers had flown infrom an unidentified Southeast Asian country butare of Middle Eastern origin. One, a Jordanian, wasdiscovered to have numerous bags of heroin in hisluggage. His accomplice, a Palestinian. Anyoneconvicted of trafficking more than 50 grams ofheroin into China faces the death penalty.http://shanghaiist.com/2012/10/30/two_foreigners_arrested_in_shenzhen.php Page 2

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Dominican RepublicAuthorities in the Dominican Republic arrested aformer police colonel accused of being a "powerfuldrug trafficker" responsible for sending tons ofcocaine to the United States. Francisco HiraldoGuerrero, chief operating officer of the NationalDrug Control Directorate, between 2006-2008,would be extradited to the United States where hefaces four counts of drug trafficking.http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-10-31/news/sns-rt-us-dominican-drugs-arrestbre8a001j-20121031_1_rosado-mateo-drug-charges-dominican-republicPakistanA British woman, held in Pakistan on charges ofdrug smuggling, has been sent back to prison withher newborn daughter after giving birth in a hospi-tal, a British legal group said. Khadija Shah, 25, isbeing held on charges of trying to smuggle heroinworth nearly $5 million onto a flight to Britain.http://news.yahoo.com/british-woman-held-pakistan-drug-charges-baby-135148971.htmlSouth East AsiaOpium cultivation in Southeast Asia has doubledover the last six years as growing demand forheroin in China and the rest of Asia lures morefarmers to grow poppies. Opiate users in EastAsia and the Pacific now account for about aquarter of the world total.http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/10/31/chinese-heroin-demand-doubles-poppy-cultivation-in-southeast-asia/UruguayCannabis smokers in Uruguay will be allowed tobuy 20 cannabis cigarettes from the state, undernew plans. The move is a bid to stamp out or-ganised crime. Users will be able to purchase up to40g (1.4oz) per month - enough for 20 cannabiscigarettes.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2228760/Uruguay-plans-start-selling-cannabis-cigarettes-users-bid-stamp-black-market-drugs-trade.htmlZimbabweZimbabwean police have arrested two men, aZimbabwean and a Tanzanian national, at a fu-neral parlor where they were trying to retrieve thebody of a drug mule who had 1.4 kg of heroin,worth $112,000, in his stomach.http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/weird-wide-web/zimbabwe-men-caught-trying-steal-corpse-stashed-heroin

Drug WebwatchConferencesThe New EU Drugs Strategy post-2012Practical experiences from the fight against trafficking. Cooperation between EU andnational law enforcement bodies. Formulation of new legislation.Brussels, 10–11 December 2012. +49 651 93737 -811 http://www.era.int/ReportsDrug-related deaths in the UK Annual Report 2010 The annual report of drug-relateddeaths that have occurred in the preceding calendar year and comments on emergingtrends | National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths, UK.http://www.sgul.ac.uk/research/projects/icdp/our-work-programmes/pdfs/np-SAD%2011th%20annual%20report%202010%20FinalCopy.pdfSouth-East Asia Opium Survey 2012 - Lao PDR, MyanmarMyanmar opium poppy cultivation jumped 17 per cent in 2012 to 51,000 hectares (upfrom 43,000 ha in 2011) in spite of Government figures showing that 23,717 ha of opiumpoppy has been eradicated - more than three times the 7,058 ha it eradicated in 2011.http://www.unodc.org/documents/eastasiaandpacific/2012/10/ops-2012/OPS_2012_low.pdfPreventing opioid overdoses in EuropeThis report focuses on individual, situational and organisational risk factors for overdosesand how they can be modified to reduce fatal outcomes. EMCDDAhttp://www.emcdda.europa.eu/scientific-studies/2012/preventing-overdoses

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I would like to express thanks to those persons around the world who have contributedto this issue in particular to Jim Young at DS Daily. Items for inclusion in future issuesshould be forwarded to paul@paul-cook.net

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Paul Cook

Issue 73 November 2012

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