cannabisnews.com: U.S. Anti-Drug Czar Starts China Visit





U.S. Anti-Drug Czar Starts China Visit
Posted by FoM on June 18, 2000 at 12:21:33 PT
Reuters
Source: Inside China Today
U.S. government drug czar Barry McCaffrey began his first visit to China on Saturday for talks aimed at stemming the "cancer" of narcotics.He said his visit, the first to China by a director of U.S. drug policy, was an historic opportunity to broaden their dialogue on an issue of enormous importance to both countries.
China is a major transshipment point for drugs from Myanmar, which produces more than 100 tons of heroin annually, McCaffrey said.Although China had nearly eliminated growing of opium poppies, whose juice is used to process heroin, the production of crystal metamphetamine - or "ice" - and the drug "Ecstasy" was a growing problem, he said."I think what our purpose during this visit will be to broaden the dialogue to ensure that it includes not just police cooperation but scientific, medical and drug prevention messages," McCaffrey said.Plagued by opium addiction before 1949, China nearly wiped out drug abuse after the Communist revolution, but narcotics have staged a comeback since free market reforms in 1978.Alarmed by a rapid rise in drug smuggling, China's top police drug-buster Yang Fengrui unveiled plans in March to step up the war on drugs.Yang, National Narcotics Control Commission vice director, told state media that 16 tons of ice was seized last year - 10 times more than in 1998 - as well as 5.3 tons of heroin.GOLDEN TRIANGLE:Much of that came from border regions near the so-called Golden Triangle, the area where Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet, Yang told a national narcotics conference.McCaffrey, who is on a three-nation tour, will survey treatment programs and discuss anti-trafficking cooperation.He will meet drug officials in Beijing and visit a treatment center in Kunming, a city near the drug-infested border with Myanmar, the U.S. embassy said.With a delegation including U.S. drug research experts and Coast Guard officials, he will also visit Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region of China, Vietnam and Thailand.The U.S. delegation would also seek China's viewpoint on neighboring North Korea, McCaffrey said.There was growing evidence that North Korea produced opium and metamphetamine, which was smuggled to other countries, but it was hard to determine if such activity was state-sponsored, he said.Kunming, which the U.S. drug czar will visit on June 20, is the capital of Yunnan, an "embattled frontier province" and a gateway for heroin from Myanmar, McCaffrey said.The southwestern province has the country's biggest drug problem and executes some 400 drug dealers each year after public denunciations.China sentenced 4,193 citizens last year for growing opium poppies, Yang said.It had 680,000 registered drug addicts by the end of 1999, a rise of 14.3 percent over the previous year, state media said. Heroin dominated the list, with 490,000 addicts.Eighty percent of Chinese drug addicts were male and 78 percent were between the ages of 17 and 35, Yang said.Beijing, (Reuters)  Published: June 18, 2000 © 1995-2000 European Internet Network Inc. Related Articles: US Drug Policy Maker in China http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6085.shtmlWe're Winning the Drug War - If We Say Sohttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6084.shtmlReport Targets Drug Office http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6082.shtmlPOWs Under Fire http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6076.shtmlCannabisNews McCaffrey Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/McCaffrey.shtml 
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on June 22, 2000 at 15:28:49 PT
Related Article
US Backs Vietnam's Anti-Drug Campaignhttp://www.overgrow.com/news/news614.shtml
THC Today
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Comment #3 posted by dddd on June 18, 2000 at 16:35:55 PT
advise
barry had to go get some advise from the masters of totalitarian dictatorial repression. I'm hoping we are going to see the fall of the czar soon,as us angry marijuana peasants,who are not yet locked up,chase him from the country with torches and pitchforks.....dddd
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on June 18, 2000 at 13:23:33 PT
Thanks Rainbow
Thank you Rainbow! You prayed for Peter in Church today! That was wonderful.Peace, FoM!
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Comment #1 posted by Rainbow on June 18, 2000 at 13:11:39 PT
McCzar out on his Warring crusade
I guess if we become a nation like China was drug use can be wiped out. I think that might be exactly what people like Hatch and fienstien would like. The visits to treatment facilities are probably a rouse, he would like to learn more about how to prosecute and punish.At least they don't kill users in China. The US kills both dealers and users. We prayed for Peter today in church.>>>The southwestern province has the country's biggest drug problem and executes some 400 drug dealers each year after public denunciations.Rainbow
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