]> 2026-05-07T09:55:28+07:00 News:2005-09-01/Report/unodc-south-asia-regional-profile-sri-lanka 0 en-gb Report 2005-09-01Z 2453614.5 UNODC South Asia Regional Profile: Sri Lanka The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime published a comprehensive regional profile documenting Sri Lanka's drug situation as of 2003–2004. The report estimated 500 hectares under illicit cannabis cultivation, concentrated in the dry zones of the Eastern and Southern provinces, with approximately 600,000 cannabis users nationwide. Cannabis seizures reached 73,774 kg in 2003, a significant increase from 25,834 kg in 2002, while cannabis-related arrests rose 29% year-on-year. The report traced historical drug use patterns including opium, noting 60,000–68,000 opium users in the 1920s, government-distributed opium to registered users until mid-century, and methadone detoxification programmes in the 1970s. It documented heroin trafficking from India via the Palk Strait and confirmed Sri Lanka as a transit point for drugs from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India heading to Europe. The NDDCB estimated 45,000 regular heroin users alongside the 600,000 cannabis users, with drug users proportionally distributed among all ethnic and religious groups. 2026-03-02T19:28:03Z 2461102.3111458 News:2005-09-01/Report/unodc-south-asia-regional-profile-sri-lanka