East, Southeast Asia join forces to combat synthetic drug
(VOVWORLD) - The fight against synthetic drug in East and Southeast Asia is the main topic of a 2-day conference which opened in Hanoi on Tuesday.
 An exhibition on drug rehabilitation in Vietnam (Illustrative photo - Source: VNA) |
Deputy Head of the Standing Office for Drug Control (SODC) under the Vietnam Ministry of Public Security Colonel Hoang Anh Tuyen said the expansion of the synthetic drug market is threatening over 100 countries worldwide. More than 600 new drug types have been discovered only recently and many of them are not yet included in national and international lists of illicit drugs. Tuyen said regional countries should be more proactive in building and implementing synthetic drug control policies and strategies, as well as cooperate to devise regional initiatives and mobilise financial resources for the work.
Jeremy Douglas, Regional Representative of the UNODC for Southeast Asia and the Pacific urged regional countries to maintain effective data systems on drug use and share knowledge and experience on drug use situations, the production of illicit drugs, and cross-border drug trafficking, which could lead to the formation of strategic solutions.