FILIPINOS RANK HIGH IN USE OF MARIJUANA

BAGUIO CITY-More Filipinos smoke marijuana than their East and Southeast Asian counterparts, according to the 2004 World Drug Report of the United Nations.

The same report said the Philippines as well as Cambodia and Thailand are a major cannabis producers in the region.

But further reading of the 400-page report showed that compared with the major cannabis growers in the world, the Philippines is still a lightweight.

The report, produced by the UN Office on Drug and Crime ( UNODC ), places the Philippines at 52nd place among 136 countries, revealing that 2.3 percent of Filipinos, aged 15 to 64, use cannabis-the largest percentage among 16 countries in the East and Southeast Asia.

Papuans are the heaviest users of marijuana with 29.5 percent of their adult population using it, trailed by their neighbor Micronesia Federal State with 29.1 percent and Ghanaians with 21.5 percent.

Eleven percent of Americans and Canadians smoke marijuana.  In fact, Western Europeans are heavier users of marijuana than Filipinos.

Cannabis is the most widely consumed illicit drug, according to the UNODC.  About 146 million, or 3.7 percent of the world's population, 15 to 64 years old, consumed cannabis from 2001 to 2003.

The UNODC reports that although consumption of marijuana is declining in Southeast Asia, the use of cannabis is still growing in Asia, with China and India showing large increases in the number of users.  The report said 30 percent, or 45 million, of all cannabis users are found in Asia.

On the other hand, "falling levels of cannabis use in 2002 were reported in Indonesia, the Philippines and Myanmar," the report said.

Probably contributing to Filipinos' propensity to use marijuana is the cheapness of its price, the report said.

The retail price of marijuana in the Philippines is one US cent a gram and $61 a kilogram wholesale, which is considered the lowest in the world.

In Japan, the same quantity sells for $52 a gram retail, and $4,973 a kg.  wholesale.

Because of its reggae reputation, marijuana also known as ganja, commands the highest price in Bermuda at $50 a gram and $13,000 a kilogram.  In the United States, marijuana is sold wholesale at $2,300 a kg.

Compared with other illicit drugs, marijuana is produced in almost every country, the report said.

North America seems to be the world's largest cannabis market, based on the number of seizures.  About two thirds of its supply are produced domestically while most of its imported "grass" come from Mexico and Canada.

"The main source country in South Asia is India.  The main source countries in Southeast Asia are Cambodia, Thailand and the Philippines.  With regard to cannabis herb exports from Southeast Asia to Europe, Thailand was most frequently mentioned in 2002," the report said.

Total world production of cannabis is estimated at 32,000 tons and production has been rising, the report warned.

"If available estimates from various sources are combined, data show a strong decline of cannabis herb production over the 1989 to 1992 period, followed by an increase over the subsequent decade so that global cannabis herb production in 2002 has again reached levels similar to the late 1980s," the report said, adding:

"It may also be interesting to note that the trend of global cannabis herb seizures exhibits a very similar pattern over the same period."

According to the report, seizures in the Philippines from 1997 to 2002 totaled about 8.2 tons, representing 2.7 percent of the total confiscations for the same period in East and Southeast Asia.

The total world seizure of cannabis for the same period totaled about 24,010 tons.  North America accounted for more than 14,000 tons.