The draft legislation is two years old. Illicit Cultivation and Production of Illicit Narcotic Substances. Cannabis is the only illicit narcotic cultivated and produced in Sri Lanka. Most cannabis cultivation occurs in heavy jungle in the southeastern part of the island, near areas of conflict. Due to staffing limitations brought on by the conflict and the location of the fields, the police located and destroyed only one large field of cannabis in 2000, a four-acre plot containing nearly 13,000 kilograms, in January, and a total of 15 acres nationally.
Police continue to rely primarily on informants to find cannabis cultivation.
Sri Lanka is active in regional antinarcotics cooperation. A computer program developed by the PNB and funded by the U.S. Government hosts a regional database of narcotics arrests, monitoring and other information. In September, the DAP used USG funds to convene the Third Global Conference on Drug Abuse Primary Prevention in Italy. More than 100 participants from 20 countries attended. In 1992, the government estimated the number of heroin addicts at 50,000, although a world health organization-funded survey in 1998 estimated there were only 22,500 addicts.