Moreover, the UN also estimates that there are 45 million people living with HIV/AIDS in countries where health systems are either absent or very poor, and that over the next 20 years there will be some 10 million new cases of cancer in the developing world. These estimates, together with poor countries’ additional needs when natural catastrophes strike, imply that the potential legal demand for medicinal opiates is even higher.
而且，联合国还估计，全球有4500万艾滋病患者生活在要么没有医疗体系要么体系极差的国家，在未来20年中，发展中国家大约新增1000万癌症患者。这些估计，加上自然灾害来袭时穷国额外的需求都表明医用鸦片潜在的合法需求甚至更为巨大。