Appeal to participants of the conference
Dear colleagues and friends!
Today we will discuss political and economic aspects of the drug abuse and drug trafficking. Modern world is not synchronized - international markets provide free flow of goods and capital while nation-states regulate them at the regional level, which often creates non-transparency zones. From 90-th, as a result of corruption and weak governance , independent post-Soviet states have become blind spots with the largest international drug-trafficking route . The result was predictable - after redistribution of power and resources, governments have decided to regulate drug trafficking strictly, mostly because they viewed it as another source of income and the subject of political bargaining.
Sustainable human development at the international level was lost because of such short-sightedness of nation-states pursuing ineffective policies. This occurred not only in the sixth part of the land, but also in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Of course, such concept would be ineffective until the solution is found at the national level. States should develop an appropriate regulatory model for drug use. In the West, liberal vector of power has led to the fact that in the near future the problem of drug addiction will be partially neutralized through legalization and monopolization of drug production and distribution branches by the state.
Do not forget that the drug abuse on a large scale flourishes in regions with high level of poverty, badly developed health care system which is the result of corrupted and destructive policies. This leads short-sighted regimes to demographic decline and low economic performance, which in turn means lower rates and decrease in cultural and scientific progress in these countries. In other words they face “New Middle Ages”, a period of acute social stress and growing inequality among the population.
We have to talk about this negative scenario, because most of the countries with threshold economies and a high percentage of drug addicts and HIV-infected people are still unable to adopt effective solutions to counteract the effects of the drugs on a global scale. Tighter legislation, nationalization of rehabilitation, deliberate stigmatization of desocialization leads to a stratification of society and to the total control of the state. Under such conditions, social welfare cannot be achieved.
So today, we must choose the informational method to fight drug addiction at the international level. We have a great responsibility for forming a new balanced ideology. This will be the first step in writing the concept of sustainable development of mankind not in terms of economy and consumption of natural resources, but in terms of social progress, which should not go through stagnation phase to regression. World's population (7 billion people) must urgently address the problem of drug abuse, to ensure the prosperity of future generations. World League “Mind Free of Drugs” within its 50-year development program is working on this task.
I am the president of the League and I welcome all participants of today's discussion, and wish you fruitful work on our conference!
