A good summary of key issues in the UN annual Drug Report, from "InSight - Organized Crime in the Americas"
The Top Three Trends in the UNDOC World Drug Report: "The annual United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report on the global drug trade paints a picture of success in Colombia. But it's clear the real winners remain the transnational drug gangs, who are evolving fast in response to changing markets. ...
The limitations of the UNODC reports are still clear
The UN relies on satellite imagery to collect much of its data on coca cultivation. But coca fields are becoming smaller and smaller, in part due to pressure from eradication efforts. The satellites used in detection efforts work best for fields no smaller than 0.25 hectares. Especially in Colombia, coca is being increasingly grown among legal crops, or in plots smaller than a hectare. Coca bushes can also be planted several times a year, meaning that farmers can move back on land that they had previously abandoned.
This means that many of the annual statistics supplied by the UNODC, especially regarding coca and cocaine estimates, must be considered rough and low-end estimates."
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