Published on: 2026-06-26
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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June 26, 2026 Peace and Security
Drug traffickers effectively use new technologies and exploit global instability to introduce new types of drugs. Criminal networks experiment with alternative trade routes and methods, as well as aggressively expand into new markets. This is stated in the World Drug Report 2026, published today by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
According to estimates, in 2024, 331 million people used drugs, which accounts for 6.2 percent of the world’s population aged 15 to 64. For comparison, in 2014 this figure was 5.2 percent. Cannabis remains the most widespread drug by a huge margin: in 2024 there were 256 million users of this substance. Following it are opioids (63 million), amphetamines (32 million), cocaine (25 million), and ecstasy (21 million).
“We are witnessing an unprecedented surge in the emergence of new types of drugs on the market, and, which causes concern, some of them have become even more potent and dangerous than before,” said UNODC Executive Director Monica Juma.
According to her, this already leads to tragic consequences, including millions of premature deaths and irretrievably lost years of healthy life for the population. The turnover and use of drugs disrupt economic processes, destabilize the situation, and contribute to violence.
“The necessity to focus on suppressing the activities of organized criminal groups is stronger than ever. We must activate preventive measures, expand information exchange, and coordinate joint operations, while simultaneously increasing investments in prevention and treatment,” emphasized Juma.
Drug dealers continue to introduce innovations
Manufacturers of banned substances continue to invent new synthetic drugs in an attempt to circumvent regulations and deceive law enforcement agencies. In 2024, five times more types of drugs were confiscated than in the period before 2000. For example, the number of new psychoactive substances circulating in the drug market reached 755 in 2024, with 118 of these substances registered for the first time.
A turning point in the global opioid market
The ban on drugs introduced in Afghanistan in 2022 continues to severely limit the illegal production of opium and heroin. Although production in Myanmar grew from 420 tons in 2021 to more than 1000 tons in 2025, this growth (as well as the market in other UNODC monitored countries, such as Laos and Mexico) does not compensate for the decline in Afghanistan, where more than 6,000 tons of opium were produced in 2022.
© UNODC Staff UNODC staff conduct poppy field assessments in Myanmar.
The growing availability of new synthetic opioids, such as fentanyls, nitazenes, and orfins, indicates that dealers are seeking alternatives to heroin. The shift from plant-based opiates to synthetics may cause a permanent shift in the global opioid market, altering the pattern of use of these substances and the associated harm.
The methamphetamine market has become global
New smuggling routes and the gradual expansion of the geography of methamphetamine production have formed new sales markets, especially in the Middle East, Africa, and parts of Europe. The volumes of seizures have grown on average by 12 percent per year, mainly ensured by East and Southeast Asia. Although Myanmar remains the main source of methamphetamine, high demand has also attracted suppliers from North America, West and South Africa, as well as Southwest Asia.
Methamphetamine from North America now crosses the Tyrrhenian Sea, heading to countries in the western part of the Tyrrhenian region, which simultaneously causes an increase in traffic and consumption on the islands of the Tyrrhenian Sea. In the Middle East, the destabilization of the Captagon market after the fall of the Assad regime in Syria and the subsequent doubling of the substance’s price in some places may lead to a shift of Captagon consumers to methamphetamine, the scale of whose use in the region has already grown.
The change in perception of cannabis stimulates the growth in the number of consumers
Production, illegal trafficking, and cannabis use are evolving. Probably, this is partly related to the ongoing change in attitude towards this drug at the time when many jurisdictions (especially in North America) adopted policies of legalization and/or decriminalization.
The number of people using cannabis has increased by 40 percent over the last decade, and the prevalence of its use has risen from 3.8 percent of the population aged 15–64 in 2014 to 4.8 percent in 2024. Cannabis seizures in 2024 have also reached a historic maximum.
© Unsplash Legalization of cannabis products reduces risk perception.
Historically, a large part of the illegal cannabis trade occurred within regions, mainly because it could be grown practically anywhere. Nevertheless, interregional trade with supplies from North America is growing: over the period from 2015 to 2024, 57 countries or territories outside North America identified it as a region of origin for seized cannabis (compared to only 11 countries in the previous decade).
Cocaine supply may exceed demand
Cocaine production in 2024 continued to grow, increasing more than fourfold over the past ten years and reaching, according to estimates, more than 4,000 tons (in pure form). This is mainly due to increased productivity and expansion of cultivation area.
Organized criminal groups continue to direct increasing volumes of cocaine to both traditional and emerging markets, seeking to maximize profits and expand their customer base beyond the largest and most established markets in Western and Central Europe, North America, and Oceania.
Evidence of such an expansion is observed in Africa and Asia, where, despite relatively small volumes, some countries recorded the highest growth rates of cocaine seizures in the world during the period 2020–2024.
The impact of drug use on safety
Drug use may be associated with the commission of crimes for profit and violence within families and social groups. Drug users can both become victims of crimes and commit them. However, this is influenced by factors such as the context of drug use and the personal history of individuals (including poverty, homelessness, mental health problems), as well as the situation in society, for example, lack of access to addiction treatment and social services. These factors should be considered as starting points for conducting interventions and preventive measures.
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