National Amphetamine-Type Stimulant Strategy Background Paper: Monograph Series No. 69
6.1 International markets
The UNODC reported that after years of substantial increases in the 1990s, the markets for amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) seem to be stabilising, reflecting improved international law enforcement cooperation and precursor control. The quantities of precursors and the number of illicit laboratories seized increased in accordance with intensification of enforcement efforts. However, end-product seizures declined and the number of ATS users remained roughly stable.
In discussing trends in world drug markets, the World Drug Report (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2007) noted that methamphetamine manufacture and trafficking has spread beyond the traditional markets of Asia and North America (e.g., to South Africa), though remains limited in Europe. An even stronger geographical spread has been observed with regard to MDMA production and trafficking. While there seem to have been some declines in the ‘traditional’ manufacturing locations of Western Europe (notably the Netherlands), MDMA production is spreading to other parts of the world, including North America, Oceania and South-East Asia.
Crystal methamphetamine is the most likely form of methamphetamine to be imported into Australia, with large shipments of crystal methamphetamine first detected at the Australian border in 2000 (McKetin et al., 2005). Most shipments originate from China or, to a lesser extent, other countries in the Asia Pacific region and are usually concealed in cargo bound for the East Coast (McKetin et al., 2005). Recent increases in imports of methamphetamine produced in South-East Asia, notably in China and the Philippines, into Australia have offset some of the decline in domestic production (Australian Crime Commission, 2006).
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During consultations, the influence of countries in South-East Asia, particularly India, on trafficking was noted. Some participants highlighted the continued importation of methamphetamine and their precursors from Asia, which needs to be addressed. Similarly, a 10% increase in the importation of licit pharmaceuticals in recent times was noted and the diversion of some for illicit means. The ease with which methamphetamine can be manufactured is a measure of its availability and low cost, as noted in the written submission from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC):
- The supply of methamphetamine and its precursor chemicals is economically lucrative, and inconsistencies in precursor control legislation across the Asia Pacific region hamper efforts to prevent the diversion of precursor chemicals to illicit drug manufacture. There are also few limitations on where the drug can be manufactured, which has led to methamphetamine supply being more dynamic and less predictable than the supply of crop-based illicit drugs, such as heroin and cocaine.
- In 2005, the number of Asian countries reporting an increase in amphetamines use declined to 15, while the number of countries reporting stable or declining amphetamines use increased to 16. A year earlier, 20 Asian countries had reported an increase and only 12 countries saw a stable or declining trend. Once the reported trends are weighted by the amphetamines using population, the net result shows a (marginal) decline. This stabilisation followed years of uninterrupted growth over the last decade in the Asia region. Increases in amphetamines use are mainly reported by countries of western and southern Asia. In contrast, countries of East and South-East Asia, which account for the bulk of all amphetamines use in Asia, report a stabilisation or even a marginal decline. Following strong increases in the 1970s, early 1980s and late 1990s, all data for Japan, Asia’s most lucrative methamphetamine market, suggest that methamphetamine abuse stabilised or even declined slightly in recent years. The life-time prevalence rate of methamphetamine was reported to have amounted to 0.4% of the population aged 15 and above in 2003, but fell to 0.3% by 2005 (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2007, p.157).
