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To get the fund started, the United States made an initial pledge of $2 million. That was in 1971. Since that time, the response of other countries has been disappointing. For although the United States has met its pledge, the contributions of other nations have not been sub- stantial. West Germany, for example, has contributed only $310,000, yet according to knowledgeable sources, there are indications that West Germany is becoming more prominent in the illegal trafficking in nar- cotics. There have been unsubstantiated reports that there is an illicit heroin laboratory located in the Munich area and that West Germany also serves as a conduit for opiates being smuggled from the Middle East.
In spite of the lack of response from other countries, the United States pledged another contribution of $5 million in fiscal year 1973. This will raise the U.S. contribution to $7 million since the inception of the plan as opposed to $1,201,208 for the other 131 members of the United Nations.
Status of the United Nations Fund for Drug Abuse Control
Contributions:
| Pledges:
United States-
$2, 000, 000
Canada
$250,000
Canada
150,000
Cyprus
2,500
France
100,000
Greece
2,000
West Germany.
310, 482
Iran
5,000
Holy See.--.
1,000
Italy
101, 350
Morocco
2,000
Norway
74, 626
Saudi Arabia.
2,000
Sweden
41, 580
Sweden
20, 790
United Kingdom..
125,000
Turkey
5,000
Vietnam
1,000
Total
602, 106
Nongovernmental
6, 830
Total
2, 599, 102
Total contributions
and pledges--- 3, 201, 208
Given the less than enthusiastic support for the Fund, the United States must begin a concentrated effort to obtain wider participation from members of the United Nations, particularly from those coun- tries that are links in the international narcotics traffic pattern. As the situation now stands, the attitude of most countries toward the U.N. Fund for Drug Abuse Control is an indication that they view the heroin problem as uniquely American and appear to be unwilling to contribute to its solution.
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