Suurin osa suomalaisista medioista näkyy jo uutisoineen tuon
YK:n huumeraportin vuodelta 2009.
Harmi vain, että kaikki keskittyivät mainitsemaan, kuinka perinteisten kasviperäisten huumeiden käyttö on laskussa ja synteettisten nousussa - lopun "How to improve drug control"-osio jäi heiltä täysin huomiotta.
Vastaavasti Huffington Post (joka on parin liberaalivihreän amerikkalaisen ylläpitämä uutisblogi eikä mikään oikea lehti) on hieman yliraportoinut ko. osion, ja tästä syystä en usko, että tätä YK-juttua tullaan koskaan näkemään missään lehdissä vaikka miten paljon sitä sinne spämmäisitte. Tekstissähän ei puhuta huumeiden dekriminalisoinnista vaan siitä, että huumeiden vastaisessa työssä tulisi panostaa ns. isojen kalojen kiinnisaamiseen sen sijaan, että käyttäjiä rangaistaan vankilatuomioilla.
UNODC:n johtaja Antonio Maria Costa kirjoitti:How to improve drug control
The Report provides a number of recommendations on how to improve drug control.
First, drug use should be treated as an illness. "People who take drugs need medical help, not criminal retribution," said Mr. Costa. He appealed for universal access to drug treatment. Since people with serious drug problems provide the bulk of drug demand, treating this problem is one of the best ways of shrinking the market.
Second, he called for "an end to the tragedy of cities out of control." In the same way that most illicit cultivation takes place in regions out of government control, most drugs are sold in city neighbourhoods where public order has broken down. "Housing, jobs, education, public services, and recreation can make communities less vulnerable to drugs and crime," said Mr. Costa.
Third, governments must enforce international agreements against organized crime. International crime-fighting instruments like the United Nations Conventions against organized crime and corruption are not being used. "Therefore, too many states have crime problems of their own making," said the head of UNODC. In particular, he said "current instruments to tackle money laundering and cyber-crime are inadequate."
Fourth, he called for greater efficiency in law enforcement. He encouraged police to focus on the small number of high profile, high volume, and violent criminals instead of the large volumes of petty offenders. In some countries, the ratio of people imprisoned for drug use compared to drug trafficking is 5:1. "This is a waste of money for the police, and a waste of lives for those thrown in jail. Go after the piranhas, not the minnows," said Mr. Costa.
In an effort to improve transparency and the quality of drug data, this year UNODC has introduced ranges into country-level estimates used in the World Drug Report. For many regions, and for some drugs (like ATS and cannabis) the ranges are relatively wide since information is more limited. "I urge governments to gather more information. This will provide a clearer picture of drug trends, and, as a result, improve drug control," said Mr. Costa.