Some 200 million people, or 5 percent of the world's population aged 15 to 64, use drugs at least once a year. The number of opiate users is estimated at around 16 million (11 million of which abuse heroin), while the number of cocaine users is said to be close to 14 million. Confining our overview to heroin and cocaine: Following strong increases in the 1980s, opium production has been basically stable at around 4,000 to 5,000 metric tons per year since the early 1990s. It is also estimated that 87 percent of opium destined for the illicit market is now produced in Afghanistan. As for cocaine, after the peak reached during the second half of the 1990s, production is now estimated at 674 metric ...