SCENESETTER FOR WHITE HOUSE ONDCP DIRECTOR R. GIL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 STOCKHOLM 000759 SIPDIS WHSR PLS PASS TO ONDCP CHRISTINE KOURTIDES COPENHAGEN FOR DEA MORAN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SNAR PREL PTER AF SW SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR WHITE HOUSE ONDCP DIRECTOR R. GIL KERLIKOWSKE VISIT TO STOCKHOLM, DECEMBER 7-10 STOCKHOLM 00000759 001.2 OF 002 Introduction -------------- ¶1. (U) Embassy Stockholm warmly welcomes you to Sweden. Your visit provides an opportunity to further cement close and collaborative bilateral relations with a nation and a government whose outlook on key international issues closely matches ours. For example, Sweden's foreign and defense ministers both fully endorsed the President's recent speech on Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Sweden contributes to both the military mission (with 500 troops) and the civilian assistance effort (especially in rule of law, health and education). You may wish to highlight these contributions in your meetings here and in any possible media event; note the direct connection between Afghan poppy fields and drugs on the streets of Sweden; and express your appreciation that Swedish forces in ISAF are helping to prevent the scourge of heroin use in Europe. ¶2. (U) Sweden's government is led by a four-party center-right coalition that, in 2006, unseated the Social Democrats who had governed Sweden for most of the 20th century. The new government embarked on an ambitious economic reform aimed at increasing employment, reducing welfare dependence, and streamlining the state's role in the economy. The economy slid into recession in 2008 as a result of deteriorating global conditions -- considerably restricting the scope of the government to press on with its reform program. Jockeying is in full swing for the next parliamentary election taking place in 2010, with the governing coalition head-to-head with the Social Democrats in the polls. The focus in the upcoming campaign will remain on economic and job issues, although immigration will also be on the docket. Sweden also holds the EU Presidency until the end of 2009, and has focused on climate change and ushering in the Lisbon Treaty to streamline EU decision-making and increase the EU,s international clout. As the head of the EU, Sweden has acted as a useful interlocutor on many Justice and Home Affairs issues, including combating transnational crime, cybercrime, and terrorism. DRUGS IN SWEDEN -------------- ¶3. (U) Sweden is not a significant illicit drug producing country. However, it is increasingly becoming a transit country for illegal drugs from South America, West Africa, Eastern Europe, China, and Afghanistan smuggled via other EU countries to other Nordic countries and Eastern Europe, according to police reports. Drugs enter the country concealed in commercial goods, by air, ferry, or truck. The fight against illegal drugs is an important government priority and enjoys strong support among a public highly intolerant of illegal drugs. ¶4. (U) There are an estimated 26,000 serious drug (heroin, cocaine) users in Sweden. Amphetamines and cannabis remain the most popular illegal drugs and the influx of methamphetamine has been on the rise. Total heroin usage remained stagnant since 2008 but the abuse of anabolic steroids continued to rise. The quantity of narcotics ordered over the internet, such as Mephedrone, GBL, Methylon, and Salvia, also increased in 2009. About 20 percent of high school aged boys and girls have claimed to have tried drugs, mainly cannabis. Limited residential cultivation of cannabis occurs, along with a limited number of small kitchen labs producing methamphetamine and anabolic steroids. There are no reports of any large scale narcotics laboratories in Sweden. Khat usage remains restricted to specific immigrant communities. ¶5. (U) Some 80 percent of cannabis in Sweden comes from Morocco, the remainder from the Middle East and Central Asia. Most seized amphetamines originate in Poland, Netherlands, and the Baltic countries. Cocaine originates in South America and is smuggled through major European ports, and then by land or air. South American smugglers and dealers have long dominated the cocaine trade, however, competition form other criminal groups, such as Serbians and Russians, has lead to a price decrease. In 2000, one gram of cocaine cost the equivalent of $200, today the price is as low as $55-$120 in Stockholm and $110-$140 in southern Sweden. ¶6. (U) Heroin is mainly of Afghan origin and individuals from Serbia or Kosovo dominate the distribution networks of Afghan heroin, most often called "brown heroin." Opium, although STOCKHOLM 00000759 002.2 OF 002 not a significant source of addiction in Sweden, also originates mainly from Afghanistan and surrounding countries. It is usually smuggled to Sweden from Iran via persons on airplanes. Opium smuggling and distribution networks are almost exclusively controlled by individuals with Iranian or Middle Eastern origin. On a separate note, several Members of Parliament recently told us that they have had a hard time convincing their constituents why Swedish forces should be in Afghanistan, and they asked us for information on Afghan-origin heroin in Europe. You may wish to highlight in your meetings here and in any possible media event the direct connection between Afghan poppy field and drugs on the streets of Sweden, and express your appreciation that Swedish forces in ISAF are helping to prevent the scourge of heroin use in Europe. SWEDEN'S RESPONSE TO DRUGS -------------- ¶7. (U) The Ministry of Health and Social Affairs has overall responsibility for Sweden's national drug policy. The main goal is to achieve a drug-free society by preventing drug abuse, helping people with substance abuse problems to recover, and reducing drug supply. The government action plan on narcotics, supported by a budget of about USD 37 million annually, focuses on prevention, local level engagement, and EU wide as well as international cooperation. Priority is given to children, young people, and parents with special attention given to the school environment. ¶8. (U) You will be seeing the Youth Chapter at the Stockholm Police Narcotics Division, which, since 2004, employs a one-of-a-kind work method in Sweden. The Youth Chapter's mission is to provide assistance and treatment in conjunction with arrests and to prevent youth narcotics addiction at an early stage. This collaborative venture between the police division and the Ministry of Public Health and Social Services was recognized this year as the best crime-prevention project in Sweden and will represent Sweden in the European Crime Prevention Network contest in December. WHO IS MARIA LARSSON? -------------- ¶9. (U) You will also be meeting with Maria Larsson who, as the Minister for Elderly Care and Public Health, is responsible for public health, disability issues, social, and elderly services. As such, she is responsible for Sweden's national policy on alcohol, tobacco, narcotics, and doping. She is a member of the Christian Democratic Party, the smallest party in the ruling coalition, and is also the Deputy Chairman of the party since 2003. She has been a member of the Swedish Parliament since 1998 and has served on the Parliament's committees on Industry and Trade, Foreign Affairs, Labor Market and Equality Issues. Larsson began her political career in 1988 as a local politician in southern Sweden, her home base. Trained as a schoolteacher, she has 15 year of middle-school teaching experience. The 53 year-old Larsson is married with three children. BARZUN