Marijuana use worldwide is out of control

A U.N. report says marijuana use worldwide is out of control.

Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the U.N.'s Office on Drugs and Crime, says that's because the plant grows everywhere, marijuana is in high demand and erroneously is considered by many to be harmless. But he says marijuana, also known as cannabis, is a danger because it contains THC, a banned substance.

Costa made the comments at a news conference.

But the U.N.'s 2006 World Drug Report generally was upbeat, boasting some gains. For example, it says opium poppy cultivation was down 22 percent in 2005. It attributed the decline to cutbacks in the three main source countries of illicit opium in the world: Afghanistan, Myanmar and Laos.

But on the negative side, the report found that cocaine use is reaching alarming levels in Western Europe.