Asia-Pacific Forum Against Drugs 2025 – Opening Address by Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law

Mr Matej Košir, Chairman of the Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs,

Ms Amy Ronshausen, President of the World Federation Against Drugs,

Mrs Gillian Koh Tan, President of the Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association (SANA),

Ladies and Gentlemen, a very good morning to all of you.

1. A very warm welcome to Singapore to all our speakers and guests from overseas.

2. I would like to thank SANA for organising this year’s Asia-Pacific Forum Against Drugs, or APFAD, for short.  We started this forum about 10 years ago, a decade ago. 10 years on, there is now a strong and growing group of NGOs advocating for a drug-free approach.

Deteriorating Drug Situation

3. Most of you, all of you, know what the global backdrop is: the global drug situation is worsening at an alarming pace. Worldwide, the number of people using drugs rose to nearly 300 million in 2022, which is a 20% increase compared to 10 years ago.

4. Synthetic drugs, like methamphetamine (meth), have led to a global surge in drug abuse, and these drugs can be produced anywhere – even in the backyard of a house, and at any time.

5. According to the latest World Drug Report, meth is now the dominant drug being seized. Seizures have grown 4 times between 2013 and 2022 – that’s over 10 years.

6. At the same time, drugs themselves are becoming more potent. Take fentanyl for example. It is 50 times more potent than heroin and its effects have been devastating.

7. Between 2018 and 2022, or a 5-year period, over 250,000 Americans died from fentanyl overdose. In 2022 alone, there were about 200 people dying in the US every single day . This is, if my memory serves me right, more than the number of people who have died in all of American’s wars – from the Second World War, Korean War, Vietnam War, Afghanistan. More people die from this than any of the wars.

8. This threat is coming closer to home for all of us. In March, the Malaysian police reported that they had detected fentanyl in wastewater testing. That suggests that people are abusing fentanyl in Malaysia.

9. The strong nexus between drugs and crime is well known. The Economist reports that the rise of cheaper and more potent synthetic drugs has fuelled a surge in organised crime globally.

10. Last month, in France , the media reported that vehicles were set on fire outside prisons, and a prison officer was threatened at home, in response to the government taking a tougher stance against crime related to drugs.

11. In Mexico , since 2006, more than half a million people have been killed. A majority of these killings, are believed to be linked to drugs and the drug trade.

12. Ahead of Mexico’s general election in June last year, 40 candidates were murdered, and these killings are said to be linked to organised crime.

13. One of the speakers today, Ioan Grillo, is a journalist based in Mexico. I spoke with him for a few minutes earlier. He has witnessed firsthand how an entire nation, and the fabric of a nation, can be destroyed once drugs and drug cartels take root. You will hear from him more later.

14. The situation in our region is also worrying. The Golden Triangle remains a major source of opium and meth production.

15. The New York Times reported that Myanmar is now the world’s largest producer of opium and one of the world’s largest manufacturers of synthetic drugs, including meth, ketamine, and fentanyl.

16. In 2023, the Global Organized Crime Index named Myanmar as the biggest host of organised crime in the world.

17. This is happening right at our doorstep. But given how interconnected the world is, what happens in Myanmar has deep implications all over the world, including Europe and the US – they are not far away.

Liberalisation of Cannabis Use

18. In addition to rising drug supply, we also have to deal with rising demand. The rapid liberalisation of cannabis controls around the world is fuelling demand.

19. As of last year, 9 countries including Germany, Canada, Mexico, and about half the states in the US have legalised recreational cannabis use.

20. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has estimated that in 2022, there were 228 million cannabis users worldwide. If you put these 228 million people in one place, in one country, that would be the 7th largest country in the world. These are the known users.

21. Now, there is clear medical evidence that cannabis use causes irreversible brain damage, and serious psychiatric disorders.

22. One of the things that confounds me is when I go to international fora, which I used to some few years ago, the canard that is put forward that somehow cannabis is necessary for medical use and this is said in the UN forum.

23. I said to them, I will support medical use if a medical association, a national medical association, says that they need it – we will provide for it. But I won’t support it if it is some company that is profiting from the use of cannabis that wants to legalise it without any controls, and is trying to do it in the form of candy to 10 year olds, and then you put out in public that this is for medical use.

24. The cannabis lobby, just in the tobacco lobby in the 1950s and 60s, is following the same playbook with far more money, and unfortunately, a combination of what is termed as “progressive” politics – which means the rest of us are not progressive, automatically you are disenfranchised because you are not progressive – so combination of “progressive” politics with misguided priorities and a population that is largely unaware of the risks, plus a lot of money by companies which are totally cynical, because all they are interested in are profits, they are not worried about the people dying in the thousands, hundreds of thousands. This combination is taking place in plain sight, while you see country after country in Latin America, Europe, American states, being devastated by the scourge of drugs, and in Asia too it is beginning.

25. It is without conscience, it is terrible to look at. The victims are usually the most defenceless in society - children, women, families.

26. In its 2022 Annual Report, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) reported that between 2000 and 2018, admissions for cannabis-related psychotic disorders have gone up 4 times worldwide. And this is limited by the number of such institutions that are available, so the actual demand will be much more.

27. The INCB also issued a warning that cannabis-related health problems have increased in all jurisdictions where cannabis has been legalised for recreational use.

28. A study conducted in Ontario, Canada found that patients with cannabis use disorder were 10 times more likely to die by suicide, compared to the general population. They were also more likely to die from trauma, drug poisoning, and lung cancer.

29. So the false narrative of cannabis as a ‘soft drug’ is largely driven by commercial entities. We saw this happening with tobacco companies, as I said earlier, in the 1990s, when they marketed tobacco and smoking. They ran advertisements of doctors saying smoking was good for health. They even introduced flavoured cigarettes to make it more appealing to the younger generation.

30. Cannabis companies are likewise downplaying the risks, driven by profits. They are also trying to entice the young.

31. Just two months ago in Singapore, CNB picked up a haul of cannabis-infused chocolate bars and candies during an operation. They look innocent, they look enticing - bright colours, cartoon characters, pretty fonts. But they cause immense harm. Imagine if children find and consume them.

32. And really, these companies do not care about lives. Their aim is purely to make money. The more addicts there are, the more money they make. It is as simple as that.

33. Mr Kevin Sabet and Mr Luke Niforatas, from the Smart Approaches to Marijuana, will speak more about this later.

Singapore's Approach to Drug Control

34. We, in Singapore, are determined to maintain our tough stance against drugs.

35. This Government believes that our people have the right to live in a drug-free society, even if that might be termed as “not progressive”. I don’t buy that. Most of our people support it, and it is our responsibility to protect our people’s right.

36. We take a harm prevention approach. And that combines tough laws and rigorous enforcement, robust rehabilitation programmes, extensive public education.

37. We are strongly supported in our efforts by our community, and civil society. More than 85% of the population support the approach we take.

38. So as I never tire of saying, any lady in this room, any young child, can go out at any time of the day or night in Singapore, and not feel scared. You can send your 10-year-old child on public transport in Singapore, and not worry whether the child will come back, not worry whether the child would have drugs pushed on the way to school, or on the way back. And that, I think, is a very important human right.

39. Community partners and volunteers work with us to help ex-drug abusers in their rehabilitation and reintegration, to keep them from relapsing.

40. NGOs befriend ex-abusers, provide assistance in areas such as employment, housing, financial support. It has to be a holistic, total support all around, to get the abuser to kick off and move on to achieve his or her full potential.

41. For example, SANA actively helps former drug abusers to overcome their addiction. It helps them to strengthen their family and social networks, offers counselling and other assistance.

42. Some ex-abusers themselves, are now volunteering as SANA’s Peer Leaders, to share their experiences and challenges with young people in schools.

43. One Peer Leader, Alvin Chiong, is here with us today.  He will share more this afternoon on his desistance journey.

44. This strategy, trying to be as comprehensive as possible, has enabled us to keep our drug situation somewhat under control. We have one of the lowest drug abuse rates in the world.

45. Our approach has saved many lives including those who might have succumbed to the lure of drugs, as well as saved their families.

46. In Singapore, we have designated the third Friday of May as ‘Drug Victims Remembrance Day’ . That’s tomorrow. On that day, we remember the victims of drugs, who are not just the abusers, but their families and society as well.

47. This year’s observance ceremony will be held, as I said earlier, tomorrow, and I invite all of you to join us.

48. I will speak a little more about it tomorrow, but in essence, the idea is this: In Singapore, we have the death penalty, and it is most often used, not for homicides because we have got very low homicide rates, but for drug traffickers.

49. Because we treat drug traffickers as people who ply death. They want to make money out of the death and misery of others.

50. And so we make our laws very clear. We tell people you traffic in drugs, you face the death penalty, and we impose it.

51. We get a small group which is very active in publicising the death penalty and how cruel and inhumane it is, and they ignore the victims. And they hold candlelight vigils for the people who face the death penalty, before the execution.

52. So we decided, maybe we should tell the population, we should hold candlelight vigils for the hundreds of thousands around the world who are dying because of the drug trade.

53. And so the Drug Victims Remembrance Day helps us remember the people around the world and Singapore, who are victims of drugs, and what drug traffickers do to all these people.

54. Last year’s event was well-curated. It had a walk-through journey exhibition, real experiences of families, so that it brings home in a very real way, what people go through.

55. And I am sure tomorrow’s exhibition will likewise be very good. I was very impressed with last year’s exhibition.

International Cooperation

56. No country can tackle the global drug problem alone. Because it is a global problem.

57. We are a member of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) for the term 2024 to 2027. We participate actively in CND’s work. We contribute to its capacity building programmes in drug control, such as the annual Singapore Drug Control Programme which started in 2022.

58. In fact, the Singapore Prison Service is currently holding a workshop on “Evidence-Informed Drug Rehabilitation and Prevention” for correctional officials from 14 jurisdictions, 27 officials. They are with us here today.

59. We are launching today another initiative to strengthen international partnerships in addressing drug trafficking and drug abuse.

60. I am pleased to announce the formation of a regional coalition of NGOs, called the “Asia-Pacific Confederation against Drugs”, or APCD for short.

61. The founding members come from five jurisdictions:

(a) From Singapore – SANA

(b) From Malaysia – Green Crescent

(c) From Indonesia –

(i) National Movement Against Narcotics (GRANAT)

(ii) Assistance and Empowerment Foundation for Papuan and West Papuan Community (YP2MP)

(d) From Philippines – Association of Anti-Drug Abuse Coalitions of Philippines

(e) From Hong Kong – Society for the Aid and Rehabilitation of Drug Abusers.

62. APCD will advocate for stronger drug demand reduction efforts and the creation of drug-free societies.

63. It will strengthen regional cooperation through joint programmes and projects, and sharing of best practices.

64. APCD will also seek to have a voice at international platforms like the UN CND, to speak up against the rising tide of liberal policies and misinformation on drugs.

65. If more organisations join APCD, its effectiveness and voice can be multiplied. I would like to encourage those of you here today, to consider doing so. We have delegates from different countries, US, Europe, other countries, Asia. We look at today as a baby step.

66. It’s been my urging of my officials, that we should try to bring the NGOs and civil society organisations that are involved in this area, to come together, try sharing notes, help each other.

67. Singapore is determined to provide the support for this, because some of this would require Governmental support. And different countries, the level of government support varies.

68. And really, we can think big, we can consider how we can work together and support each other, and amplify the messages to our respective countries.

69. We welcome ideas. Singapore stands ready to work with each one of you, and I mean that very seriously, and we can think of a larger organisation over time that brings in even more people into the fold, and even more civil society organisations into the fold, to see how we can take this fight further forward.

Conclusion

70. Because we really ought to be under no illusions on the difficulty in dealing with this problem.

71. The global drug trade is a multi-billion dollar industry with powerful, vested interests.

72. It exploits the vulnerable, it corrupts state institutions, it undermines the will of Governments to tackle this problem, it undermines the fabric of societies, all in order to profit.

73. Challenging as it may be, we have to press on, because we have morality and right on our side, and it is the right thing to do.

74. Every time we steer a person away from drugs, we save a life. And the lives of many more – their families, loved ones, and children.

75. And with that, let me declare APFAD 2025 officially open.

76. I wish all of you a fruitful conference.

77. Thank you.