The UN has warned about the significant changes currently taking place in the drug market. Ghada Waly, the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), alerted during her speech in Vienna about the proliferation of increasingly accessible, powerful, and dangerous synthetic substances. According to Waly, the diversity, potency, and harm of drugs available today have never been greater.
The UNODC director mentioned that the consumption of multiple substances, known as polyconsumption, is on the rise and becoming more complex. Moreover, she highlighted that treatments continue to be inaccessible for the majority of those who need them, especially women and youth. Similarly, the illegal drug trade is growing and diversifying, with more than 1,300 psychoactive substances registered by the UN.
A strong increase in amphetamine-type stimulants and synthetic opioids has been observed, with fentanyl causing thousands of overdose deaths in North America and captagon dominating the illegal market in the Middle East. The UN has also reported a global increase in drug consumption and in the production of cheaper and harder-to-trace synthetic substances.
In 2022, 292 million people were reported to have consumed drugs worldwide, a 20% increase from a decade ago. The cocaine market has reached record levels, and for the fifth consecutive year, seizures in Europe have surpassed those in North America.
The lack of access to treatments particularly affects women and youth, who are more vulnerable to new substances and methods of consumption. The UNODC urged member states to intensify their international cooperation to address this global issue and combat organized crime related to drug trafficking.
