Transcript
The United States and UN have praised the Iran in its war on drugs and this is one reason: the seizing and burning of tons of narcotics. The June 25th event is the latest response to the heroin Tsunani flooding Iran from neighboring Afghanistan.
Iran also is being credited for leadership in treating the country’s drug abuse epidemic. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Iran’s government has been more supportive of drug treatment than any other government in the Islamic world.
Today Iran holds 600 drug treatment centers and an additional 1,250 facilities that offer methadone, free needles and other services for those not ready to quit.Yet, it wasn’t always this way. After the 1979 revolution, the government tried the more traditional approach of putting most drug users in jail. But a sharp increase in the crime rate resulted and the number of people sharing contaminated needles led to a surge in HIV-AIDS cases.
Fighting the drug war in the numerous treatment centers and along the border with Afghanistan has cost the Iranian government and its population. Agence-France Presse reports that the country has lost hundreds of police officers killed in clashes with drug smugglers.
During a conference on the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, President Ahmadinejad called for more help from the international community.
Saying quote; “THE TIME HAS COME FOR THOSE WHO CLAIM TO FIGHT AGAINST DRUGS TO REVIEW THE WAY THEY DEAL WITH THIS PHENOMENON AND THEIR OVERT AND COVERT RELATIONSHIPS WITH DRUG SMUGGLERS. THIS IS BOTH A SUGGESTION AND A WARNING.”
According to the government, more than one million Iranians are addicted to some form of opium, heroin or other drug, and some estimates run as high as ten million.
Western support for Iran’s drug problem has been interlaced with discussions of Tehran’s nuclear policies.
A recent package of incentives offered by the European Union promised Iran "intensified cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking" from Afghanistan — but only if it suspends uranium enrichment first.
