Blinken calls for closer global cooperation on tackling synthetic drugs
VIENNA, March 15 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday called for greater international cooperation to fight the booming trafficking of illicit synthetic drugs such as fentanyl, the leading cause of overdose deaths in his country.
He was speaking at an annual meeting of the U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), which reviews global drug regulation and each year adds new so-called precursor chemicals – ingredients used to make illicit drugs – to international lists known as schedules to place strict controls on their trade.
“More than 40% of the American people know someone who has died from an opioid overdose. Synthetic drugs are now the number one killer of Americans aged 18 to 45,” Blinken said in a speech to the two-day “high-level segment” of the CND.
While the drugs and the scale of the problem may vary by country, “in every region, use, dependence, overdose deaths by synthetic drugs are rising rapidly”, he said.
“My message to this gathering is urgent. If we want to change the trajectory of this crisis, there is only one way to succeed, and that’s together,” he said.
This year the CND, which is meeting in Vienna until the end of next week, is considering adding two fentanyl precursors to the schedules, which the United States supports. While such “scheduling” is necessary, U.N. officials say the process is a losing battle.
Reuters
