Head Chair:Kinga Grant-Zawadzki Vice Chair: Nathan Bianchini Moderator: Arabella Patterson
Position papers will be due on February 5, 2021. The position paper format, and all other important conference documents, can be found on our conference website, http://lhhsconference.weebly.com/. Email all position papers to our committee email: [email protected]. Feel free to contact us via email if you have any questions or concerns!
Hello! My name is Kinga Grant-Zawadzki, and I will be your Head Chair for NARCS Novice. I am a senior at Laguna Hills High School and this is my fourth year of MUN. At school I am a member of the IB Program, NHS, Spanish NHS, and I play volleyball on the varsity team. Outside of school I volunteer for the non-profit Girls on the Run, I work as a volleyball referee, and I enjoy hanging out with my friends. I am looking forward to our conference this year and I can’t wait to see you all in committee!
Hello! My name is Nathan Bianchini and will be your Vice Chair for this year's NARCS Novice committee. I am a junior at LHHS and besides MUN, I am part of the varsity soccer team. Outside of school I am usually spending time with my family and friends, playing other sports such as basketball, or working at a hair salon on the weekends. I can’t wait to have an amazing conference with you all this year.
Hi! My name is Arabella Patterson and I will be your moderator for NARCS Novice. I am a sophomore at LHHS and enjoy MUN very much. Some of my hobbies include dancing and cooking. I also enjoy hanging out with my friends and getting boba with my sister. I can’t wait to see all of you in committee. Have fun researching!
Topic: Illicit Production of Synthetic Drugs in Europe
Background Synthetic drugs are chemical compounds produced to mimic a certain drug. These chemicals have either the same or stronger effect as the drug they are made to imitate. Synthetic drugs are highly addictive and a serious threat to one's health. Regulatory agencies have a hard time monitoring and controlling the production of synthetic drugs, making it difficult to put a stop to the industry. Also, synthetic drugs are not easily detected in drug tests, making them in high demand. Synthetic drugs are easily accessible and inexpensive which are contributing factors to synthetic drug abuse. Unlike many other types of drugs, synthetic drugs can be produced globally. This has led to synthetic drug production plaguing many areas of the world such as East and South-East Asia, West Africa, and Europe. Europe is one of the major producers of synthetic drugs in the world and have been producing them for over 40 years. The dominant synthetic drugs in Europe are amphetamine, ecstasy-type drugs, and methamphetamine. The market for these drugs runs into the billions of Euros. According to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), Belgium and the Netherlands are key countries for the manufacture of MDMA, also known as ecstasy. Countries in the Americas, East and South-East Asia and Oceania have seen increasing amounts of European produced ecstasy seizures. As the market has expanded, production and distribution have gotten more diverse and difficult for law enforcement to contain. The synthetic drugs have also changed how users inject themselves, oftentimes resulting in mass poisonings and outbreaks of Hepatitis C, HIV, and other bacterial diseases. The increasing reach of European produced synthetic drugs and the major health effects of synthetic drugs are reasons why action must be taken to prevent the expansion of the illicit production of synthetic drugs.
UN Involvement The U.N. has had a significant impact in controlling the illicit production of synthetic drugs in Europe. In more global terms, the General Assembly adopted Resolution 42/112 on December 7, 1987, that declared June 26 as the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (World Drug Day). World Drug Day cements the U.N.’s campaign against illegal drug production into the calendar year and prompts individuals and NGOs to raise awareness of this widespread issue. Additionally, the U.N. has created the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs in 1961, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances in 1971, and the Convention against the Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, which all provide international framework for regulating the production and trafficking of illicit drugs. Furthermore, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime launched the Early Warning Advisory (EWA) in 2013, a program developed in response to the increase of new psychoactive substances (NPS), such as in Europe. It works to analyze and report trends of the global production of these drugs. Apart from the U.N., the European Union (E.U.) established its own supervising organization on the illegal production of drugs in Europe known as the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). EMCDDA provides European nations with data on any emerging trends of drug abuse, which encourages E.U. member states to initiate governmental work that aims to combat against the illicit production of illegal drugs.
Bloc Positions Western Bloc: Europe has slowly become one of the leading producers of synthetic drugs in recent decades. According to data from the UNODC, the amount of amphetamines seized in 2015 show an expansion of the South-Eastern European amphetamine market. Ecstasy production has been growing in Europe with many industrial-scale manufacturing centers for MDMA have been discovered by authorities. In 2015, fifteen countries in Europe were reported to be home to amphetamine manufacture with the drugs primarily being trafficked to various European states; the Netherlands and Belgium were reported as the leading producers. Many Western countries have adopted legislative responses to the growing production of new synthetic psychoactive substances. All in all, the production of synthetic drugs has deeply impacted many Western states, especially those in Europe, which has led to the adoption of policy to mitigate this production and consumption of synthetic drugs.
Latin Bloc: While the Latin Bloc has faced its own struggles with drug trafficking and production, it is impacted by the illicit production of synthetic drugs in Europe. The Dominican Republic has become a major transshipment point for ecstasy coming from Belgium and the Netherlands. Much of European MDMA enters South America by being shipped to Argentina where it is then distributed to wealthier nations such as Chile. While synthetic drugs produced in Europe pose a threat to the people and countries of Latin America, domestic drug production and trafficking poses a larger threat to the region. Latin America is a major producer of the world’s cocaine and cannabis, with these drugs being trafficked globally. Overall, the illicit production of synthetic drugs affects the Latin Bloc, but domestic drug production and trafficking poses a more imminent threat to the region. This has led the policy of countries within the region to focus on tackling drug production within the region, rather than within Europe.
African Bloc: Africa has remained rather unaffected by the illicit production of synthetic drugs in Africa. Synthetic drugs are both used and produced in many African nations. There has been a rise in ecstasy use among young, white South Africans since the early 2000s. West Africa has become a major center for synthetic drug production with Nigeria dominating this production. According to WHO, amphetamine-type stimulants, such as ecstasy, are the second most abused type of drug in Africa. Drug use in African has contributed to a rise in the contraction of HIV and Hepatitis C, which is largely caused by the sharing of drug injection equipment. Africa has taken action to curb drug use and production, including synthetic drug use and production. One instance of this can be seen with the creation of the West African Commission on Drugs (WCAD). To conclude, Africa is largely unaffected by the illicit production of synthetic drugs in Europe as it, or more specifically West Africa, is a major producer of synthetic drugs.
Asian Bloc: Despite Asia being a major area for synthetic drug production, European synthetic drugs have still made their way into Asia. Between 2011 and 2015 the majority of ecstasy seized in South-East and East Asia, and Oceania came from North America and Europe. The ketamine market in Southeastern Asia indicates international supply routes, specifically between the region and Europe. People face harsh punishments in many Asian countries for drug related charges, which include trafficking in the synthetic drugs produced in Europe and using those drugs. Sixteen Asian countries utilize capital punishment to punish people for drug-related activities. At the same time, Asian countries have primarily been focused on solving their own issues regarding illicit drug production and trafficking. In summary, while Asia is affected by the illicit production of synthetic drugs in Europe as the drugs are oftentimes trafficked into various Asian countries, Asia is mainly focused on solving their own problems caused by Asian drug production and trafficking, rather than Europe’s.
Questions to Consider
What is driving the increased production of illicit synthetic drugs in Europe, and how can these causes be mitigated?
How has the production of synthetic drugs in Europe impacted people on a global scale?
What international agreements or actions have been created or taken to solve the issue?
How have past UN actions regarding the issue either been effective or ineffective?
How has the illicit production of synthetic drugs affected global drug trafficking?
Sources
10 YEARS OF DRUG POLICY IN ASIA: HOW FAR HAVE WE COME? A CIVIL SOCIETY SHADOW REPORT. International Drug Policy Consortium, 2019, fileserver.idpc.net/library/10-year%20review_ASIA.pdf.
Anonymous. “European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).” European Union, 26 Mar. 2019, europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/agencies/emcdda_en.