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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORT, MARCH 1996: ICELAND
United States Department of State
Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
I. Summary
Iceland is not a significant producer or transit site for illicit drugs.
Iceland's drug problem, while small relative to many countries,
continues to have an impact on the domestic population, especially the
young. The Government of Iceland (GOI) made little progress in 1995 to
advance new counter-drug initiatives, but a surge of media and
parliamentary interest at the end of the year helped boost the effort to
educate young Icelanders about the dangers of drug use, and holds
promise of forward movement in 1996.
II. Status of Country
On a per capita basis, Iceland appears to have a relatively small drug
problem, but concern about narcotics abuse increased dramatically at the
end of 1995. Drug trafficking occurs on a minute scale; for instance,
addicts purchase heroin abroad for their exclusive use, and almost never
sell it in the domestic market. The most notable and alarming trend is
the increase of drug abuse among young teens, including a number of 13
and 14 year-olds. There are rumors that even younger children are
experimenting with drugs. In 1995, the drug-related suicides of two
teens were reported by the press, which rarely reports suicides of any
kind out of respect for the families. Both suicides were connected to
the use of "ecstasy," a drug which has received a great deal of media
attention.
While seizures of heroin, cocaine, and hashish went down in 1995,
seizures of marijuana and amphetamines increased. Seizures of ecstasy
(MDMA) increased dramatically in 1995, although they remain below the
seizure levels of amphetamines and, especially, hashish.
III. Country Actions Against Drugs
Policy Initiatives. Iceland has not ratified the 1988 United Nations
Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances. No progress towards ratification occurred in 1995, but
action is expected in 1996. Although Parliament has discussed softening
Iceland's tough anti-entrapment laws, which do not permit the Narcotics
Police to purchase drugs and then prosecute the sellers, it has not
taken further action.
Discerning how drugs transit Iceland continues to be a matter of police
guesswork. Iceland's Narcotics Police run a Joint Information
Coordination Center (JICC) charged with monitoring aircraft transiting
Iceland and reporting the information to the El Paso Intelligence Center
(EPIC). Inadequate cooperation between the Narcotics Police and the
Customs Service, inefficient, old software used with the JICC, and the
delayed introduction of new software have contributed to making the
program ineffective to date.
Agreements and Treaties. Iceland is a party to the 1961 Single
Convention, its 1972 Protocol and the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic
Substances. The United States Government (USG) and the GOI have an
Extradition Treaty dating from 1902; a Supplementary Treaty was signed
in 1905. Iceland participates in the Financial Action Task Force
(FATF).
Law Enforcement. The Narcotics Police report the following drug seizure
data for 1995: 10,933g of hashish, down from 20,235g in 1994; 305g of
marijuana, up from 93g in 1994; 5,146g of amphetamines, up from 783g in
1994; 143g of cocaine, down from 317g in 1994; no confiscations of
heroin, compared to 2g in 1994; 47,644 units of prescription drugs, up
significantly from 16,232 units in 1994. The Narcotics Police believe
the retail price of one gram of hashish, enough for five typical teens,
equals the price of snacks for five at the movies. Ecstasy is also
quite cheap. Police surmise that home narcotics production is limited
to some indoor growing of marijuana plants.
Money laundering per se is not a crime in Iceland. To be a crime,
laundered money must derive from some related activity that violates
Icelandic law. Recent and current cases of money laundering in
violation of Icelandic laws do not involve drugs. There were no reports
of assets seized in 1995.
Corruption. The USG is not aware of reported cases of drug-related
corruption among public officials in Iceland.
Drug Flow/Transit. GOI officials believe most illicit drugs transiting
Iceland are destined for larger Western European markets, while smaller
amounts of drugs are bound for the United States. Icelandic authorities
seize most illicit drugs in small quantities from passengers on
commercial airlines.
Cultivation/Production. Although 491 cannabis seeds and 221 cannabis
plants were seized in 1995, the USG is not aware of any reported
cultivation or production of illicit drugs in Iceland.
Demand Reduction Programs. The Ministries of Education and Health are
responsible for Iceland's counter-narcotics educational programs. The
Chairman of an inter-ministerial committee on drug abuse has expressed
interest in various US demand reduction programs, especially the "Lion's
Quest," a program sponsored by the Lions' Club International that
attempts to bolster the self-esteem of students. The United States
Information Service at the US Embassy continues to work with GOI
officials in developing drug abuse prevention materials.
IV. US Policy Initiatives and Programs
Bilateral Cooperation. The GOI and the USG law enforcement cooperation
continues to be excellent. USG counter-narcotics efforts in Iceland
have focused on revitalizing a moribund JICC operation by retrieving
more than a year's worth of JICC reports to EPIC (preserved as separate
files), compiling them in a database in Microsoft format, and
encouraging the timely sharing of information between the Narcotics
Police and customs authorities. As senior officials at the Ministry of
Justice begin to resolve this problem, information may be available to
customs authorities in 1996. This would enable the GOI either to begin
making searches of suspect aircraft or to alert customs officials of an
aircraft's next stop.
The Road Ahead. The USG will continue to encourage the GOI to
accelerate its efforts to ratify the 1988 UN Convention. In addition,
the USG will continue to improve the performance of the JICC program to
increase controls over potential trafficking through Iceland.
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