The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Vienna

The use of synthetic drugs such as amphetamine, methamphetamine (meth) and ecstasy is growing in developing countries, notably in Asia and the Middle East, and in the Gulf states in particular, a top UN body warned Tuesday.

While demand for such drugs has stabilised or even declined in North America, Europe and Oceania, "the problem has shifted to new markets over the past few years," the UN's Office on Drugs and Crime said in a new report.

"Asia, with its huge population and increasing affluence, is driving demand," the report said.

In its 2008 Global Assessment of amphetamine, methamphetamine (meth) and ecstasy, the UNODC found that, on an annual basis, the use of these drugs exceeded that of cocaine and heroin combined.

The global market, both wholesale and retail, for amphetamine-type stimulants or ATS was estimated at 65 billion dollars, the report said.

In 2006, almost half of Asian countries reported an increase in methamphetamine use and Saudi Arabia seized more than 12 tonnes of amphetamine, mostly in the form known as Captagon, accounting for a staggering 25 percent of all ATS seized in the world.