A new regional coalition of non-governmental organizations ( NGOs ) was formed in Singapore on Thursday ( May 15 ) to address the problem of drug trafficking and abuse.
Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and the group’s founding members are known as the Asia-Pacific Confederation against Drugs ( APCD ). The Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association ( SANA ) serves as Singapore’s representative.
Singapore’s Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam addressed the new partnership on Thursday at the 2025 Asia-Pacific Forum Against Drugs. The new partnership aims to strengthen local assistance through mutual programs and projects, as well as the posting of best practices.
” APCD may also get to have a speech at worldwide forums like the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs,” he continued, speaking out against the rising tide of progressive policies and false information on drugs.
” Its effectiveness and speech can be increased if more organizations visit APCD,” says one organization.
According to Mr. Shanmugam, some of these initiatives will require federal assistance, adding that Singapore is determined to help them.
He praised the start of the partnership and said,” We look at now as a child step.” He also urged other organizations to enlist in the group.
” We you envision a larger organization that will eventually bring in even more civil society organizations and even more people to see how we can advance this fight,” he said.
DRUGS’ RISING Hazard
Mr. Shanmugam stated in his opening speech at the conference in Singapore that the world medicine situation is “alarmingly persuading at a alarming rate.”
The minister warned of the proliferation of synthetic drugs like methamphetamine ( meth ) and fentanyl, noting that the global drug use increased by 20 % compared to the same time ten years ago to nearly 300 million in 2022.
For example, Mr. Shanmugam referred to the danger of fentanyl as” coming closer to home for all of us,” noting that Malaysian authorities reported in March that they had found it in wastewater tests.
That suggests that people in Malaysia are using morphine, he said.
Additionally, Mr. Shanmugam issued a warning about the rapidly expanding demand for drugs as a result of the global liberalization of cannabis laws, arguing that the emergence of the” sweet drug” concept is essentially driven by business interests.
About half of the US state and nine nations had legalized recreational cannabis usage by 2024.
According to the secretary,” the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has estimated that there will be 228 million thc people worldwide in 2022.”
” The seventh-largest nation in the world would be if you put these 228 million people in one location, in one nation. These people are known as people.
He cited instances of organized crime in France and Mexico as a source of light on the issue of medication promoting organized crime.
Myanmar is reputed to be one of the biggest producers of synthetic medications in Asia and one of the world’s. According to the , Global Organized Crime Index in 2023, the nation was named as the biggest number of organized crime in the world.