51
UNITED STATES ANTIDRUG EFFORT IN JAPAN
Unlike the U.S. Missions' narcotics programs in Laos, Thailand, and South Vietnam, the U.S. Embassy in Toyko does not appear to regard the effort against narcotics as one of high priority in Japan. Although BNDD and Customs have personnel incountry attached to the U.S. Mission, there is little, if any, overall coordination of the narcotics program.
Whereas the Ambassador is directly involved in the narcotics pro- grams in the U.S. Missions in Southeast Asia, the U.S. Ambassador to Japan has no visible role on the Mission's narcotics committee where he is represented by a low-ranking foreign service officer who must meet with intelligence and enforcement officials with much more rank and experience.
KOREA
In addition to covering narcotics activities in Japan, one of the BNDD agents assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo monitors drug activity in South Korea on a temporary duty (TDY) basis. According to the agent, the U.S. military population in Korea, which totals approximately 40,000, is vulnerable to drug abuse.
In support of his evaluation, he cited figures which show the results of 47,492 urinalysis tests taken as of May 31, 1972. Among those tested, 1,811 were positive and 689 hospitalized for detoxification. Withdrawal symptoms were observable in 206 of those hospitalized. Of that latter figure, 85 were found to be on barbiturates, 5.8 percent on ampheta- mines, 8.8 percent on opiates including methadone, morphine, and heroin.
According to two military doctors who work with drug users in Korea, 20 to 30 percent of all GI's under 25 use barbiturates while some 200 military personnel per month voluntarily request help to shake drug dependence.
In terms of availability, the area surrounding U.S. military bases is called a "no-man's land" where drugs are easy to purchase. Enforce- ment is minimal since there is no domestic coordination by the Korean police against trafficking. Moreover, the United States does not yet have a country plan devised for Korea. The agent who covers the area on a part-time basis is currently assimilating the information necessary to devise such a plan.