Text: U.S.-EU Plan Crackdown on Drug-Processing Chemicals

28 March 2001

Text: U.S.-EU Plan Crackdown on Drug-Processing Chemicals

U.N. drug control group targets synthetic drug "ecstasy"

The United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (UNCND) is calling for an international crackdown on chemicals used in the manufacture of synthetic illicit drugs, especially a drug called "ecstasy", which is increasingly popular among youth. The United States and the European Union offered the proposal, which was adopted with wide-ranging international support at the UNCND annual meeting March 28, according to a press release from the U.S. State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

The concern about ecstasy, formally known as 3,4-methylenedioxy methamphetamine (MDMA), stems from surveys that show that as many as 12 percent of young people in the United States and as many as 5 percent in the European Union are taking the synthetic drug ingested in pill form.

MDMA also goes under the names "X," "Adam," and "E." Taken primarily by teenagers and young adults, the drug intoxicates the user by affecting the body's serotonin system, which governs mood and body temperature.

The UNCND proposal calls for surveillance of sales of the chemical piperonyl methyl ketone (PMK), which is key to ecstasy production. According to the resolution itself, PMK has few legitimate uses, and is identified as a precursor chemical for illicit drug production by the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988. PMK is a controlled chemical under the terms of that international agreement, and as a result, authorities are seizing greater quantities of it in international transactions, a sign that the production of ecstasy is on the rise.

The resolution passed at the meeting in Vienna, Austria, urges cooperating nations to monitor transactions of PMK, following the standard of a similar regulatory mechanism that has been employed for a precursor chemical used in the processing of cocaine. In 1999, an effort began to monitor the trade in potassium permanganate, which led to the seizure of thousands of tons of the substance. At the beginning of March 2001, another monitoring program began following transactions of the precursor chemical acetic anhydride, used to refine heroin.

The Commission on Narcotic Drugs is the central U.N. body making policy on drug issues.

Following is the text of the press release:

(begin text)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
BUREAU OF INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS

March 28, 2001

Press Release

EUROPEAN COMMUNITY-UNITED STATES JOINT RESOLUTION ON CHEMICAL PRECURSORS TO SYNTHETIC DRUGS

A joint proposal from the European Union and the United States adopted at the annual meeting of the United Nation's Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) calls for international action against chemicals used in the illicit manufacture of synthetic drugs, in particular, precursor chemicals utilized in the processing of "ecstasy." The joint endeavor follows the release of this year's report from the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) which underscores the emergence of synthetic drugs as a serious global threat. The U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, in its 2001 report, detected notable increases in "ecstasy" use among high school-aged teens: past-year use by 8th graders increased from 1.7% to 3.1% between 1999 and 2000; past-year use by 12th graders increased from 5.6% to 8.2%. In the European Union, according to the 2000 annual report of the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Abuse, "ecstasy" and amphetamines are the second most commonly used illicit drugs in Europe with between 1% and 5% of the 16-34 age group reporting amphetamine or "ecstasy" consumption.

The joint EU-U.S. resolution, adopted at the Commission on Narcotic Drugs annual meeting in Vienna, was co-sponsored by Australia, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, India, Japan, Morocco, Norway, Panama, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Thailand, Turkey, and Venezuela. The resolution recommends a number of steps for nations to take, including the creation of an early warning system to identify and advise industry on new chemicals used in illicit synthetic drug manufacture. The resolution further urges countries to facilitate the testing for characteristics and impurity profiling of seized illicit synthetic drugs and to consider establishment of a network of collaborating laboratories to track new illicit drug manufacturing trends.

One element of the EU and U.S. proposal is the targeting of one chemical (known as "PMK") which is key to "ecstasy" production, is being seized in larger quantities by customs and law enforcement agencies and for which there is little legitimate commercial trade. The EU and U.S. are urging cooperating states to ensure that transactions of "PMK" are monitored and end-use recipients are verified prior to shipment of the chemical. This action is modeled on the successful monitoring mechanism set up in 1999 to track the trade in the chemical potassium permanganate, a key element in the processing of cocaine. As a consequence of that tracking program, dubbed "Operation Purple," in its first year, 19 shipments involving 2,000 tons of potassium permanganate being stopped by the exporting countries prior to shipment and an additional 13 shipments/169 tons being seized. A second tracking program, nicknamed "Operation Topaz," targeting acetic anhydride, precursor chemical used to refine heroin, got underway March 1, 2001.

The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) is the central policy-making body of the United Nations for dealing with drug-related issues. At its annual meetings, the CND, in supervising the application of UN conventions and agreements on drugs, takes decisions on which substances should be placed under international controls. At the 2001 CND meeting, Member States voted to transfer potassium permanganate and acetic anhydride from Table II to the more restrictive Table I of the 1988 UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. "PMK" is already listed on Table I of the 1988 Convention.

The European Union and the United States have cooperated for many years in the field of precursors and chemical substances used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and of psychotropic substances. In the framework of the U.S.-EU Transatlantic Dialogue, a bilateral chemical control agreement was signed in 1997. In that agreement, the United States and the European Union pledged to consult and inform each other on shipments of controlled chemical substances to prevent their diversion from legitimate to illicit purposes. The joint resolution on precursors just adopted by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs is a direct result of the excellent cooperation between the European Union and the United States. The full text of the resolution adopted in Vienna by the CND is attached.

(end press release text)

(begin UNCND resolution text)

Commission on Narcotic Drugs
Forty-fourth session
Vienna, 20-29 March 2001-03-28 Agenda item 4

Follow-up to the twentieth special session of the General Assembly: examination of the single biennial report of the Executive Director on the progress achieved by Governments in meeting the goals and targets for the Years 2003 and 2008 set out in the Political Declaration Adopted by the Assembly at its twentieth special session

Australia, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, India, Japan, Morocco, Norway, Panama, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain (on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the European Community), Thailand, Turkey, United States of America and Venezuela:

Revised draft resolution

The Commission on Narcotic Drugs recommends to the Economic and Social Council the adoption of the following draft resolution:

Prevention of diversion of precursors used in the illicit manufacture of synthetic drugs

The Economic and Social Council,

Reaffirming that the control of precursor chemicals is a key component in the prevention of diversion of such chemicals to illicit manufacture of drugs,

Alarmed by the continued spread of the illicit manufacture of synthetic drugs, including amphetamine, methamphetamine and Ecstasy-type drugs, and the health hazards associated with their abuse,

Noting that the global nature of both the problem of synthetic drugs and the trade in chemicals makes cooperation at all levels, with all relevant agencies and the chemical industry and trade, essential in preventing diversion,

Recognizing that the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988 provides the foundation and framework for such co-operation,

Recalling the provisions of the Action Plan against Illicit Manufacture, Trafficking and Abuse of Amphetamine-type Stimulants and Their Precursors and the measures to control precursors adopted by the General Assembly at its twentieth special session, devoted to countering the world drug problem together, in resolutions S-20/4 A and B of 10 June 1998, including the application of the principle "know your client",

Recognizing that further information is required on the identity of chemicals used in the illicit manufacture of synthetic drugs,

Recognizing also that many of the chemicals used in the illicit manufacture of synthetic drugs are also used in the licit industry and trade,

Bearing in mind the use of non-controlled and easily substitutable chemicals in the illicit manufacture of synthetic drugs,

Recognizing the importance of drug characterization and impurity profiling and of the results of forensic analysis of drugs in obtaining information on trends in, and on the chemicals used for, the illicit manufacture of synthetic drugs,

Recognizing also that large quantities of 3,4 methylenedioxyphenyl-2-propanone, also known as PMK (piperonyl methyl ketone), a controlled chemical included in Table 1 of the 1988 Convention and an important chemical in the illicit manufacture of Ecstasy-type drugs, are being seized, and that there is little legitimate trade in this chemical,

1. Recommends that concerned Governments and international and regional organizations make every effort to establish closer contact to facilitate the exchange of information between countries used as a source of key chemicals and those in which synthetic drugs are illicitly manufactured;

2. Urges Governments and international and regional organizations to make every effort to establish cooperation at all levels, with all relevant agencies and with the chemical industry and trade, to ensure rapid exchange of information, in particular relating to stopped shipments, suspicious transactions and new chemicals identified as being used in illicit manufacture of drugs;

3. Also urges Governments to implement operating procedures for chemical control that would give effect, as a minimum, to the measures to control precursors in particular those relating to pre-export notification, adopted by the General Assembly at its twentieth special session, devoted to countering the world drug problem together, in resolution S-20/4 B, and to articles 12 and 18 of the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988, as well as article 13 thereof, relating to the tracking of essential laboratory equipment use in the illicit manufacture of drugs;

4. Recommends that Governments and international and regional organisations collect and exchange the information needed to identify the chemicals used in the illicit manufacture of synthetic drugs and the sources of such chemicals. That information should be supplied to the International Narcotics Control Board and the United Nations International Drug Control Program for analysis, interpretation and dissemination as necessary;

5. Calls upon Governments and international and regional organizations to use this information thus obtained as the basis for future initiatives to prevent the diversion of such chemicals;

6. Urges Governments and regional organizations to make use of the limited international special surveillance list of substances developed by the Board, adapted or supplemented, where appropriate, by lists of chemicals subject to voluntary monitoring, to reflect national and regional situations and changing trends in the illicit manufacture of drugs;

7. Calls upon Governments and regional organizations to consider the establishment of early warning systems for suspicious key nationally non-controlled chemicals found to be used in the illicit manufacture of drugs, in order to allow for rapid dissemination of information to the chemical industry and trade and to the appropriate authorities;

8. Urges Governments to develop cooperation programs, together with the chemical industry and trade, to ensure the regular exchange of information, thus promoting greater awareness of chemicals being used in the illicit manufacture of drugs, and to encourage reporting of suspicious transactions;

9. Recommends that Governments and regional organizations consider drawing up guidelines for their chemical industry and trade, setting out indicators of suspicious transactions and allowing for the regular updating of regulations and procedures;

10. Recommends also that Governments consider facilitating, with the technical support of the United Nations International Drug Control Programs, if necessary, the development and distribution of analytical methods for drug characterization and impurity profiling, and the development of chemical tracers, as tools for the identification of illicit manufacturing trends, new drugs and the precursors used in the illicit manufacture of drugs;

11. Recommends further that interested Governments and international and regional organizations consider the possibility of establishing a network of collaborating laboratories to serve as a source of primary information leading to a better understanding of illicit manufacturing trends, new drugs and the precursors used in illicit manufacture;

12. Recommends that Governments consider, if necessary, ways of improving the enforcement capacity, including the use of controlled delivery, where appropriate, available for investigation of illicit laboratories, stopped shipments and seized chemicals;

13. Recommends also that, in view of the very limited legitimate trade in PMK, all transactions involving this chemical be regarded with concern and that end-users thoroughly verified before shipments are allowed to proceed in accordance with national legislation and procedures.

(end UNCND resolution text)