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Iran Declares War on Meth

Submitted by Phillip Smith on (Issue #670)
Drug War Issues
Politics & Advocacy

Already faced with one of the world's highest levels of opiate use, Iran is now confronting a new drug: methamphetamine. The Islamic Republic has responded with intensified law enforcement efforts and, last month, amended its drug law so that for the first time it now imposes harsh penalties for possessing, manufacturing, or trafficking synthetic drugs, including meth and other amphetamines.

Iran display, UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, Vienna 2008
Under the amended Dangerous Drug Act, people caught with more than fifty grams (less than two ounces) of synthetic drugs could face a death sentence if convicted. Iran already imposes the death penalty for people caught in possession of more than five kilograms of opium or 30 grams of heroin.

For the synthetics, however, it will take a second conviction to merit a sentence of either life in prison or death by hanging. First offenders will be fined and jailed.

Iran is already one of the world's most prolific drug offender executioners. Dozens go the gallows for drug offenses each year, and this year, Iran is on an especially blistering pace. At least 56 people were executed for drug offenses in January alone.

Iranian police have not been waiting for the new law to crack down. In a statement to media late last month, anti-drug police said they had seized 129 meth labs and 1,151 kilos of meth since March. Hamid Rez Hossein-Abadi, the head of the anti-drug police, added that more than 20,000 people had been arrested for meth offenses in the same time period.

Most recently, authorities in Iran and Malaysia busted a trafficking ring that smuggled meth from labs in Malaysia to Iran. Malaysian authorities reported that they had busted more Iranian meth traffickers last month than in all of last year.

Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

Comments

Anonymous432343234 (not verified)

... please tell me how any sane human being could think that killing someone for drug possession is going to help their society? Whoever put that kind of moronic law into effect should be hanged. Not the people using or possessing drugs. Where's the power of the people when you need it? This world is pathetic.

Tue, 02/08/2011 - 6:30pm Permalink
kickback (not verified)

The Iranian Government is attempting to get into the pockets of the Major Producers . Trickle up economics .  Prohibition funds corruption . Nuclear Ice anyone ?

Wed, 02/09/2011 - 4:05am Permalink
Strix (not verified)

Yeah well s**t happens, got people protesting in the streets around the world, that was not meant to happen, you know it as OWS. It is Iran/Contra with a twist. There was meant to be and still could be civil unrest inside Iran, the blowback is oversupply and the IRGC wanting to beat sanctions has led to a flood of ICE into the SEA, mainly Islamic countries due to the ease of transit between the two. I am led to believe the labs are mainly located inside Afghanistan, which was why even throughout Iran. discovered clandestine labs had been interdicted it made no difference to supply.

It can have some positives Islamic countries in SEA can tighten entry requirements which would stop traffickers, but also have the dual purpose of stopping terrorists traveling between countries with ease. Civil unrest in Iran and the DEA can target the IRGC over narcotics making them more illegitimate entity, asset confiscation we are broke and cannot sell narcotics, but we can seize their monies.

As the IRGC becomes more reliant on these monies to prop up them fiscally the DEA can be used to apply unilateral sanctions via interdiction of monies to the IRGC. Patriot Act, includes ICE as of 2005. And we do not have to run to the UNSC to apply those sanctions and get stonewalled by belligerent members.So effectively due to budget constraints the IRGC will help fund the DEA for us, the more they interdiction of monies, the more asset confiscation, the large scope and increased intensity of DEA operations against the Islamic Republic.

The Israelis are very good at interdiction of finances for terrorism, they can join the party too.

Fri, 12/30/2011 - 6:52pm Permalink

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