MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE INTERNATIONAL POLICE ORGANIZATION (INTERPOL) HAVE INCREASED THEIR COOPERATIVE EFFORTS IN EXCHANGING INFORMATION WITH EACH OTHER AND WITH INTERPOL. MORE COUNTRIES HAVE BECOME AWARE OF THE PROBLEMS THAT DEVELOP WHEN DRUG ABUSE IS LEFT UNCHECKED AND HAVE REINFORCED BOTH PREVENTIVE AND REPRESSIVE MEASURES. DATA SHOWS THAT THERE HAS BEEN A REDUCTION IN THE REPORTED SEIZURES OF OPIUM. SEIZURES OF MORPHINE BASE AND HEROIN HAVE INCREASED CONSIDERABLY ALTHOUGH THERE HAVE BEEN FEWER HEROIN SEIZURES. TRAFFICKERS TEND TO TRANSPORT LARGE QUANTITIES OF HEROIN, WHEN POSSIBLE. FRANCE APPEARS TO CONTINUE TO BE AN IMPORTANT CENTER FOR THE TRANSFORMATION OF MORPHINE BASE INTO HEROIN, DESPITE THE FACT THAT, DURING 1972, FIVE IMPORTANT CLANDESTINE LABORATORIES WERE SHUT DOWN. ALTHOUGH INFORMATION ABOUT THE FAR EAST REMAINS INCOMPLETE, INCREASING QUANTITIES OF MORPHINE AND HEROIN ARE BEING INTERCEPTED IN OR AT THE APPROACHES TO HONG KONG. THE UNITED STATES REMAINS THE PRINCIPAL CONSUMER COUNTRY OF COCAINE OUTSIDE THE COUNTRIES OF PRODUCTION. THE MOST WIDELY USED AND ILLICITLY TRAFFICKED DRUG, HOWEVER, REMAINS CANNABIS IN ALL ITS FORMS. IN FACT, A LIQUID FORM OF CANNABIS RESIN HAS APPEARED ON THE ILLICIT MARKET. SWEDEN CONTINUES TO PROVIDE A MARKET FOR STIMULANTS, IN PARTICULAR PHENMETRAZINE. THE U.S. AND THE UNITED KINGDOM APPEAR TO BE THE PRINCIPAL SOURCES OF SUPPLY FOR HALLUCINOGENS. DATA ALSO SHOWS THAT, IN A NUMBER OF CASES, FORGED CURRENCY OPERATIONS ARE BEING USED TO FINANCE ILLICIT DRUG TRANSACTIONS. THE REPORT CONTAINS TABLES DEPICTING ILLICIT DRUG TRAFFIC FOR VARIOUS GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS. (PRG)