U.N.: Drug markets steady or declining

WASHINGTON, June 24 (UPI) -- Markets for cocaine, opiates and marijuana are steady or in decline, while synthetic drugs are on the upswing in the developing world, a U.N. report says.

The 2009 World Drug Report, released Wednesday in Washington by the U.N. Office of Drugs and Crime Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa and Gil Kerlikowske, the newly appointed Director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, shows a downward trend in major drug markets, UNODC said in a release.

The report indicated opium cultivation in Afghanistan, where 93 percent of the world's opium is grown, declined by 19 percent last year, while Colombia, which produces half of the world's cocaine, saw its production levels decline a staggering 28 percent compared to 2007.

The use of synthetic drugs such as amphetamines, methamphetamine and ecstasy has leveled off in developed countries, but limited new data shows a probable rise in their use in the developing world, UNODC said.

Drug seizures also indicate shifting patterns in drug transportation routes, with lower cocaine flows seen through West Africa, the report said.