Cocaine use is increasing in the Western countries and opium production is rising in Afghanistan, after a decrease had been recorded in 2005. The alarm is given by Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the UN Drugs and Crime Department (Unodoc). As he presented in Washington today the 2006 World Report on Drugs, Costa stated that "three are the weak links in the fight against drugs: the supply of heroin in Afghanistan, the demand of cocaine in Europe and the general supply and demand of cannabis". "The demand of cocaine in the Old Continent is escalating to alarming levels", said Costa, who asked the governments of the EU countries "not to overlook the problem". The director of Unodoc also gave a few figures: "in 2004, approximately 25 million people used amphetamins at least once, 10 million took ecstasy, 162 million used cannabis at least once, equal to 4% of 15-64 olds. And its consumption keeps rising, partly because it is considered a light, harmless drug. But there’s growing evidence that cannabis can even cause severe mental diseases". To limit the problem, Costa suggested measures "for reducing the demand and supply of drugs" and mentioned the case of Laos, which "until the mid-Nineties, used to be the world’s third greatest opium producer: it has made huge progress by reducing its production by 72%".
