US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday hosted a virtual ministerial-level meeting during which the Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drugs was launched.
Blinken welcomed the participating expressing gratitude for senior government officials from more than 80 countries as well as leaders from over a dozen regional and international organizations “for joining us.” “We feel this acutely in the United States. Synthetic drugs are the number one killer of Americans aged 18 to 49. And it’s almost worth pausing on that fact. The number one killer of Americans aged 18 to 49 – synthetic drugs, notably fentanyl. Nearly 110,000 Americans died last year of a drug overdose,” Blinken said.
Two-thirds of those deaths involved synthetic opioids. For the individuals, the families, the communities affected, the pain caused by these deaths and by the millions who suffer with substance use is immeasurable. the secretary of state asserted According to the United Nations, more than 34 million people around the world use methamphetamines or other synthetic stimulants annually. And every region is experiencing an alarming rise in other synthetic drugs. In Africa, it’s tramadol; in the Middle East, fake Captagon pills; in Asia, Ketamine.
When one country closes off a transit route, traffickers quickly shift to another. This is the definition of a problem that no country can solve alone. “That’s why we’re creating this global coalition,” he continued.
“We’re focused on three key areas: first, preventing the illicit manufacture and trafficking of synthetic drugs; second, detecting emerging threats and patterns of use; and third, advancing public health interventions and services to prevent and reduce drug use, to save lives, to support recovery for people who use drugs,” he said “Then in September, we plan to host an in-person meeting of this coalition on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Week, where the working groups will report on their progress and help us chart a way forward.”
Source: Kuwait News Agency