Despite the 2008 World Drug Report indicating near negligible growth in illicit drug consumption in the country, Kenya must be wary of its growing status as a popular transit route. All the major illicit drugs are finding their in Kenya on their way to the intended destinations.I

The report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) warns that the world may be losing the battle against the production, trafficking and use of illicit drugs.

The UN report indicates that there has been a systematic shift in major drug routes, particularly for cocaine. Because of steady demand for cocaine in Europe and improved policing along the traditional routes, drug traffickers have now targeted West Africa.

Being lured

This confirms earlier reports indicating that Kenyans are increasingly being lured to act as carriers for West African drug syndicates. This has turned the country into a major transit point for drugs destined for Europe and America.

Last Thursday's report further places Kenya among three African countries and five globally that have registered an increase in the use of heroin.

The says the prevalence of heroin consumption in Kenya increased from 0.2 per cent in 2006 to 0.3 per cent in 2007. At the same time, the number of Kenyans using cocaine has remained stable at 0.1 per cent, although the country is still being used as a trafficking route.

"Consumption is very much market-related. You are looking at supply and demand.

"Therefore, what has to be done by the relevant authorities has to go hand-in-hand with education, prevention and treatment," Dr Reychad Abdool of UNODC stated while launching the report.

Most of the drugs - cocaine, heroin and marijuana (bhang) - passing through the region, find their way to West Africa and eventually to Europe and the US.

Strengthen demand

The report also indicates that an upsurge in supply and the development of new trafficking routes, mostly through Africa, could eventually strengthen drug demand in developed countries.

It indicates that the production of opium and coca leaves, the main ingredients in the production of heroin and cocaine, respectively, is on the rise. Opium production in Afghanistan doubled in the past two years while coca cultivation increased by 25 per cent in 2007.

It also shows that heroin and cocaine in the country originate from South East Asia and Southern Africa, respectively. The cocaine is usually in transit from Latin America to West Africa.

Previous reports had indicated a major decrease - 82 per cent - in the cultivation of opium in South East Asia since 1998. However, last year alone saw a rise in production by up to 22 per cent.

A recent report by the Nation showed an increase in the number of Kenyans being arrested for drug trafficking in South East Asian countries. Kenyan authorities fear that many, including students, are serving life sentences or could even have been executed.

In 2007, the total area under coca cultivation in Bolivia, Colombia and Peru increased by 16 per cent with the jump being attributed to more output from Colombia. However, the global cocaine production has remained stable over the last few years, reaching 994 tonnes in 2007 - a slight increase from 984 tonnes in 2006. And even thoughcocaine use has dropped in North America, its use is rising in Europe.

The report indicates that a gram of heroin in Kenya retails at between Sh750 and Sh1,000. Cocaine is more expensive, with a gram retailing at around Sh2,000. The cheapest of the three main illicit drugs is bhang, which has a street retail price of Sh12 a gram.

And use of bhang remains a major problem in Africa with 22 per cent of the production taking place in the continent. Currently, Kenya has a prevalence rate of four per cent for the drug and has also developed into a trafficking route for bhang coming from South East Asia and destined for Europe.

The kind of bhang being produced is also becoming lethal. The average level of the drug's psychoactive substance (chemical that acts primarily to alter the brain's functions) has almost doubled to nine per cent in the last decade.

An estimated 165.5 million people (four per cent of the world's population between the ages of 15 and 64) use bhang products. This is in comparison to 16 million users of cocaine and 12 million users of heroin. Approximately 208 million people or 4.9 per cent of people aged 15 to 64 have used drugs at least once in the last 12 months, says the UN report.

The report is urging authorities to take urgent steps to guard progress that has been made in the past few decades of drug control. It further advises that real success in dealing with the drug issue will only come when supply and demand actually go down rather than level off across the world.

The use, possession and trafficking of drugs are offences under Kenyan law. Possession of bhang for personal use or trade attracts jail terms of 10 years and 20 years respectively whereas the possession of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances other than bhang for personal use attracts upto 20 years in jail plus fines of not less than Sh1 million or three times the value of drugs.

Trafficking in narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances attracts fines of not less than Sh1 million plus life imprisonment.

Cultivation of prohibited plants used for the production of illicit drugs attracts a fine Sh250,000 or three times the value of plants or jail term of not less than 20 years.

Permitting one's premises to be used for smoking or sale of drugs attracts a fine of Sh250,000 or a jail term not exceeding 10 years.

Speaking at the launch, State counsel Dorcas Oduor noted that crucial legislation, including the witness protection programme to be enforced this month had been put in place to assist in the fight against drug use.

"We cannot decrease drug use unless laws are stiff enough," she said.

Ms Oduor said the Anti-Narcotics Bill, which would also assist in the elimination of illicit drug use, is in the committee stage in Parliament and was optimistic that it would be enacted soon.