United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Transcription

1 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Drug Trafficking Opioid Crisis in Developed Countries VolMUN III University of Tennessee, Knoxville February 16 18, 2018 Welcome to UNODC!

2 Hello Delegates, My name is Nicholas Lockyear and I will be chairing UNODC, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, at VolMUN III. I am a freshman majoring in chemistry with the College of Arts and Sciences and minoring in political science. This will be my first time chairing a conference, but I am optimistic as I know all the delegates in UNODC will present comprehensive, thoughtful solutions to issues of drug abuse that has existed for thousands of years. I chose to chair this committee for the pivotal point the nations of the world are at. With the adoption of policy legalizing narcotics so prevalent in the nations of the world. I look forward to an exciting weekend of stimulating debate and can t wait to hear the rigorous debate! My name is Caleb Smothers and I am a junior majoring in Political Science and Philosophy and minoring in Sociology here at the University of Tennessee. I am from a pretty small town in West Tennessee called Camden with a population of around 3,500 people so Knoxville was a little bit of a transition given that there are around 28,000 students that attend the university alone. My future goal would be to attend a good law school and go on to practice law for some time before trying to get into the local political office around my hometown and potentially further. I am actually an experienced actor in a regrettable Junior High production and I have at least five nicknames with weird stories behind them. I really enjoy Model United Nations because it allows you to use creativity, wit, and articulation in a multitude of committees with many different positions that hold various viewpoints and opinions. This allows you to experiment and have fun while building speaking skills as well as strengthening one s ability to argue in a coherent manner. I m excited to see you all on campus in February! Best, Nick Lockyear Chair, UNODC Caleb Smothers, Co-Chair, UNODC

3 Background on UNODC The UNODC is charged with assisting countries to alleviate issues related to crime, trafficking, and terrorism. These three objectives are so closely intertwined that the UNODC was created specifically to combat these in a more effective manner. The UNODC was created as the result of the combination of United Nations Drug Control Programme and the Centre for International Crime Prevention in The focuses of UNODC is combating organized crime and trafficking, corruption, preventing crime, drug abuse and health, and terrorism. UNODC assists governing bodies react and respond to the various problems caused by crimes including illicit drugs, weapons, resources, and human beings internationally. It is also working to stop relevant forms of crime before they become problematic, particularly cyber crime. Corruption is a leading cause of decrease in economic and social progress. UNODC works with the public and private sectors, as well as civil society, to halt corrupt individuals from having lasting effects on governments and other global factors. UNODC advocates and supplements training manuals and the enforcement of codes of conduct to ensure that justice systems worldwide will be consistent and fair to all parties involved. Through a scientific approach, UNODC strives to provide ample evidence that illicit drugs should be avoided, for governments to take a health based standpoint on drugs, and for individuals suffering from drug abuse to seek treatment. Finally, UNODC takes a long-term approach to addressing the issue of terrorism including how to strip funding from these organizations.

4 Drug Trafficking Introduction The UNODC relies on the participation of all Drug use is an issue that affects five members to assist in this collection of data on percent of the adult population in the world. This crime so it can simply scratch the surface of includes individuals who contract life-altering knowing how to tackle the illicit drug trade. diseases such as Hepatitis-C and HIV/AIDS as Additionally, the UNODC is also in charge of well as approximately twenty-nine million people attempting to assist nations in the fair and effective who have drug related disorders. Even more criminalization of organizations and individuals alarming is the loss of 28 million years of life due involved in international drug trade. Refining to disability and premature death related to drug justice systems around the world so that they may use. be more uniform is essential to providing a solution to the illicit activity which is increasing globally every day. Halting the illicit drug trade will also alleviate issues related to organized crime, terrorism and corruption. This is due to the large amount of financing which is provided to these organizations due to drug trade. If a solution to this issue can be created, then global crime will need to find new ways of acquiring funding and will be forced into a frenzy which will allow for respective governments to catch this criminals at their most desperate. One of the most common ideas for preventing this unnecessary loss of life is Background combating the illicit drug trade. There are various Drug use began thousands of years ago centers of drug production as well as centers of when the Sumerians discovered Hul Gil, the joy drug abuse. The UNODC attempts to collect plant, which was cultivated for the euphoric effects information on how the illicit drug trade works and it provided. Since then the world has had to fight provides this information to all United Nations the issue in whatever ways it can. This spans from parties as a way of educating as many as possible various form of prohibition to war in special cases. on how best to address this global phenomenon. The United States of America is extremely relevant

5 because they currently consume eighty percent of the world s supply of opium. Opioids were first introduced into the United States in 1800 during the Chinese migration to California. This was the beginning of what would turn into the largest drug related crisis the world has ever seen. Drug trafficking also has huge relevance in times of war. War is known to enhance the sale and use of drugs to unstable regions. Addiction rates spike and even the populations often feel drastic effects. This can be seen starting with the Opium wars in China where the Qing dynasty attempted to combat drug use among citizens and members of the military by fighting the source of most of this illicit opium, Britain. This war was not only caused by illicit drug trade, but it greatly influenced the drug trade in China during and following the wars. Often soldiers on the Chinese side would seek further opium to cope with the violence they were being objected to. Additionally, after the war the Chinese had to give more of their ports to the British which only served to increase the drug trade. Other situations include the increase of drugs during the Vietnamese War, the mass use of cocaine and brown-brown during wars in Western Africa. This violence is often caused and fueled by drug use. Current Situation The United Nations has begun to combat this problem first through extensive research by multiple committees into the effects of drugs on people. This research was/ is being conducted by the World Health Organization and the effects on the global economy conducted by UNODC and the United Nations Economic and Social Council. UNODC is charged with being doing extensive research into figuring the best ways for member nations to combat these issues through executive means and through the justice system, but has yet to accomplish the end goal. Drastically decreasing the illicit drug trade should be at the forefront of increasing global health as the United Nations is on the cusp of reaching one of the biggest accomplishments the world has ever seen. I would like to see opinions form the different regions of the world be represented in committee and encourage each delegate to view the UNODC as an opportunity to make resounding change in the way

6 drug abuse is addressed on the global scale. Different schools of thought on how this change will be reached have been fostered recently. Portugal has legalized narcotic products, Switzerland has opened shelters for drug addicts, and others believe hard set rules to retain illegality of narcotics is essential to global health. These are all relevant and should be represented in committee. These different views add to the complexity of the global drug trade. Another factor which adds to the complexity of the issue is the evolution of the drug trade in recent years. Online sales of illicit drugs through the dark web and other sources is continuing to grow and could turn into an untraceable and largely unsolvable issue if the UNODC does not act soon. Another troubling trend is the increase in prescription opioid abuse since Conclusion The international drug trade has been troubling since humans learned to cultivate poppy fields. The world needs a solution to stop the misuse and abuse of these narcotic products while also seeking to solve issues which are growing in prevalence. Issues such as dark web drug sales and increased abuse of prescription narcotics which is growing at an alarming rate need to be addressed. These issues must also be compared to the uses of narcotics, especially opioids, medically. The benefits are necessary for a culture and society which has been created and the healthcare systems have a necessity for the products.

7 Questions to Consider 1. What does the UN do and what has it done to combat the illicit drug trade? 2. What laws does your country have against drug trafficking and drug use? 3. Does your country have human trafficking, terrorism, or corruption issues and how are these issues driven by the illicit drug trade? 4. What resolutions or legislation does your country participate in? 5. What crises have been influenced by drugs in the past and how did the UN respond? 6. How should the UN do to avoid future drug trafficking? Research Sources _ html 3. UNODC World Drug Report 2017

8 Opioid Crisis in Developed Countries Introduction Opioids were the first drug to be discovered and remains to this day the most dangerous of any narcotic product in the world. Opiates are drugs There is good news in all of this though. that attach to opioid receptors in the body and Opioid overdoses are easily treated with the emulate natural brain opioids which causes the administration of a drug called Naxolone. This body to believe it feels good much like endorphins, medication not only counteracts the effects of except at a much greater level. This is an effect opioids but is also relatively affordable and can be which is somewhat desirable and therefore is easily distributed. In addition to Naxolone as a causing the international crisis developed nations short-term solution, many nations and governments find themselves in today. Opioids are collected have already started providing free treatment to from the opium poppy, or synthetic variations with those who are experiencing drug dependency and similar effects. Examples are morphine, heroin, addiction. This is still not enough to halt the crisis. tramadol, oxycodone and methadone. Opioids have Comprehensive solutions which address this the potential to cause addiction and dependence problem from a political, economic, and health that is most commonly found in the form of a lack standpoint can solve the issue presented and will of control when taking opioids and withdrawals effectively decrease the staggering number of when opioids are removed from the system. This preventable death among developed nations. addiction can fuel and increase the risk of opioid related diseases and premature death. Background The Opioid Crisis is relatively new in the scheme of the worlds time frame beginning in nineteen ninety. The situation has continued to escalate through the first two centuries of the twothousands despite great strides to make opioid products less available through mandating that nurses and other medical staff lower than a doctor cannot prescribe opioids and other forms of

9 preventing the spread of opium. However, some clinics are finding ways to overprescribe opioid drugs for trivial complaints of headaches or pain. A notable issue associated with these clinics is that they fail to effectively communicate with other entities, allowing patients to acquire multiple prescriptions for the same drug. This may be one of the causes of an excessive amount of opioid drugs being circulated on the street. As developed countries are the most affected by this issue they have been pursuing national legislation to solve the issue. Current Situation The Opioid Crisis must be addressed as it affects some of the largest global contributors and has been largely untouched individually. The lack of treatment for opioid dependent individuals combined with the lack of training and supplies for opioid overdose victims has caused an issue which leads to the death 170 American citizens per day. This is only in one developed nation and the issue is much larger. Another massive health concern that has emerged primarily in developed nations is drug addiction of mothers during pregnancy. Opioids in the mother s bloodstream can be easily transferred to the developing fetus, leading to the fetus also becoming dependent on the same drug as the mother. A complication with this public health issue is that most research shows that weaning the mother completely off of opioids during pregnancy could cause fetal death. The resulting medical protocol calls for mothers to take a low dose, or maintenance dose, of opioid drugs like Methadone or Buprenorphine. However, very recent research by Dr. Craig Towers at the University of Tennessee Medical Center has questioned the necessity of maintenance doses. This results in the addiction persisting throughout the pregnancy. Oftentimes the baby is born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, or NAS, which causes the infant to suffer low birth weight, muscle tremors, seizures, and issues with homeostatic regulation. Monitoring babies suffering from this syndrome is an enormous medical expenditure, averaging about $66,000 US dollars per affected baby, compared to less than $4,000 spent on average for a baby that was born healthy. Additionally problematic, the developed nations are rarely the producers of these opioids as they come over borders by land and sea. Afghanistan, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Myanmar are all notorious producers and exporters of the raw materials used in opioid pharmaceuticals and illicit substances. Delegates will have to consider ways of regulating both legal and illegal methods of exportation, as well as the safety, cultural, and economic concerns associated with each.

10 This causes the issue to lack solution by one nation alone. This is an international epidemic and needs to see discussion amongst developed and developing nations. Delegates must also consider how the legislation created will affect undeveloped nations as is often the case that these nations suffer from a lack of opioids needed for medical use. I would like to see that delegates combine developed nations and undeveloped nations ideologies to find a compromise that can solve this crisis while avoiding the creation of another. Conclusion This problem is a result of lack of international action and therefore must be addressed by all nations involved. The problem will only continue to escalate if nations cannot come together to find a solution. The issue of the Opioid Crisis is critical in world relations and their solution will result in a decrease of global tension and disagreement. This is an important factor when talking about any issue is how it will be addressed politically. Opioids are essential to healthcare around the world and are in high-demand. Comprehensive solutions will bring economic and social benefits not only to developed nations but also to undeveloped nations who often have to manage the crime related to this issue as well as lack some of the necessary opioid products which are misused in developed countries.

11 Questions to Consider 1. What legislation has the United Nations implemented to address the issue of opioid consumption? 2. Is your country developed or developing and how does that status affect the availability and use of opioids within? 3. Does your country have issues with drug related crime and crime organizations which benefit from the Opioid Crisis? 4. How would the world be affected if the Opioid Crisis was eliminated? 5. Should the UN address the needs of developed countries who provide funds for the UN before the necessities of undeveloped countries? Research Sources World Drug Report 2017