DRUG USE IN IRAN DECLINING, U.S. MODEL CREDITED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RPO DUBAI 000169

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS INL FOR SADGHIANI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 4/14/2019
TAGS: SNAR PGOV SOCI IR
SUBJECT: DRUG USE IN IRAN DECLINING, U.S. MODEL CREDITED

DUBAI 00000169 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: Ramin Asgard, Director, Iran Regional Presence
Office, DOS.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)

1. (C) Summary: A medical professor who consults for the IRIG
on drug treatment and prevention programs said that demand
reduction programs are showing results in reducing drug use in
Iran. He said that Iran now models many of its demand reduction
and addiction treatment efforts on programs developed by the
U.S.'s National Institute on Drug Abuse and suggested that
collaboration with this organization, as well as between medical
universities, would be welcome by Iran. He also observed that
the UNODC office in Tehran is well-regarded and has a good
working relationship with the government. Though happy to speak
in generalities about the problem of drug abuse in Iran, he
shied away from specifics and cautioned that data regarding the
prevalence of addicts and related public health issues such as
HIV infection rates is considered very sensitive by the IRIG.
End summary.




2. (C) According to a senior consultant to the Ministry of
Health's Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Office,
contrary to conventional wisdom, illegal drug use in Iran has
recently started to decline. The doctor, who is also an
associate professor at Zanjan University Medical School,
attributed the decline to government-funded programs designed to
reduce demand. The government, he said, began shifting away
from an exclusive focus on punishing traffickers and users and
began emphasizing demand reduction in 2007; in his opinion,
those efforts are showing promise and will become increasingly
effective over the course of the next three to four years. He
also noted that the government has recently invested heavily in
border control and predicted that as a result, this year they
would be able to more effectively stem the tide of drugs
entering Iran through its eastern border with Afghanistan and
Pakistan.




3. (C) The doctor said that opium remains the most popular drug
in Iran and estimated that there are about twice as many opium
users as there are heroin users, avoiding the use of specific
numbers. He also noted that synthetic drugs, such as
methamphetamines and ecstasy, are quite popular but are still
mostly confined to urban areas. The doctor observed that the
biggest challenges to addressing illegal drug use in Iran are
countering the "supporting culture" that allows opium use to
remain socially acceptable and the pervasive use of nicotine
from a very early age. He said that while heroin usage is
increasingly stigmatized in Iran society, opium and synthetic
drugs are considered "clean drugs" by many. The doctor believes
that the ban on the sale of tobacco products to people under 18
enacted last year and the prohibition of sheesha in coffee shops
are positive steps. Enforcement of the new rules is not 100
percent yet, but he described a noticeable difference from one
year ago , and predicted this effort will eventually help bring
down illicit drug use in Iran since tobacco use is typically a
precursor to narcotics usage.




4. (C) The doctor said that the most effective treatment and
demand reduction programs in Iran are based on programs
developed by U.S.'s National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and
are available for free through the internet. (Note: NIDA is
part of the National Institutes of Health.) He said the
programs are adapted to make them "culturally appropriate" for
Iran (i.e. removing references to alcohol and adjusting
references to sexual relationships). The doctor spoke highly of
NIDA and said he has met NIDA officials at international
conferences and has "stayed in touch" with some of them. (Note:
He was in Dubai to apply for a visa to attend a NIDA
International Forum conference in Nevada this June. He planned
to discuss collaboration with his international counterparts at
the conference.) He also cited Australia as a source for
materials and programs that have been successfully adapted with
for use in Iran.




5. (C) The doctor noted that the UNODC office in Tehran has an
excellent reputation and a solid working relationship with IRIG
officials responsible for counter-narcotics efforts. In
response to a question about potential avenues for increased
cooperation with the United States or the broader international

DUBAI 00000169 002.2 OF 002


community, he suggested that linkages between universities in
the United States and in Iran would be the most effective and
least sensitive way to move forward. He indicated that medical
schools and universities would welcome collaborative
relationships that helped them better address treatment needs
for drug users as well as demand reduction initiatives. He also
said that an opportunity to expand on the informal relationship
with NIDA personnel, through the organization of a workshop
perhaps, would be a logical next step. (Note: Substance abuse
treatment was the theme of a successful International Visitor
program for Iranians in 2007. Another was planned earlier this
year but did not occur after the Iranian participants declined
to travel. End Note.)




6. (C) Near the end of the conversation, the doctor admitted
candidly that he was nervous about meeting with IRPO personnel
because certain information about drug use and HIV prevalence
rates in Iran is considered "sensitive" by the government.
Nevertheless, he said that working level officials at the
Ministry of Health are aware of his contact with NIDA and
support his work. He said that while he did not need official
permission to attend the NIDA conference, he knew to keep his
government colleagues aware of his activities to prevent from
arousing suspicion.




7. (C) Comment: Though interdiction and border control efforts
are increasingly discussed as possible avenues for cooperation
between Iran and the US, according to this source, professional
linkages in the treatment and demand reduction fields might also
be welcome. Indeed, Iranian IVLP alumni from the 2007 Substance
Abuse IVLP exchange have developed and sustained collaborative
relations with American counterparts they met during their visit
to the US. This doctor, who appears to play a leading role in
developing and implementing Iran's strategy to combat domestic
drug use, paints a more positive picture of current usage and
addiction rates than is commonly understood outside of Iran.
While he did not seem to be intentionally understating the
magnitude of the problem, he was clearly mindful of governmental
sensitivity about the issue and steered conversation away from
specifics about trafficking patterns or government interdiction
efforts. End comment.
ASGARD