There continue to be challenges in the interdiction and reporting of laboratories and precursors as traffickers continue to shift precursors and production locations to avoid interceptions

for the manufacture of methamphetamine in Europe seems to be largely limited to the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Belgium.

• Over the 2014-2024 period, global methamphetamine seizures increased 3-fold while the quantities of intercepted methamphetamine precursors (expressed in methamphetamine equivalents) declined by 85 per cent and the number of dismantled methamphetamine laboratories fell by 94 per cent; if the 2010-2014 period is considered the changes become even more pronounced; in parallel to a 6-fold increase in global methamphetamine seizures, the annual number of dismantled methamphetamine laboratories fell by 96 per cent and the quantities of intercepted methamphetamine precursor chemicals (expressed in methamphetamine equivalents) declined by 97 per cent.
• The massive declines in reported dismantled laboratories seem to have been linked to (i) production in larger laboratories, (ii) shifts in clandestine manufacture to countries where controls are less strict and (iii) changes in the definition of a “laboratory” in some countries, shifting from a broad definition (including methamphetamine manufacturing related storage facilities, tableting sites, packaging sites and chemical dumping sites) to a more focused definition as a site for the manufacture of chemical products.
• Data on seizures of methamphetamine precursors, suggest a continued adjustment of traffickers to the availability of different precursors. Traditionally, methamphetamine has been mainly produced - in a majority of countries - out of ephedrine and/or pseudoephedrine. Over the period 2014-2021, there was a shift in some main producing countries towards the use of P-2-P related pre-precursors as, initially, some them had not been under international control. This trend changed as more of these chemicals came under international control and over the 2022-2024 period traffickers seem to have been back to primarily ephedrine and pseudoephedrine with these substances (converted before into methamphetamine equivalents) accounting for about two thirds of all methamphetamine precursors seized in 2024. Over the 2020-2024 period 42 countries (equivalent to 78 per cent of countries reporting ATS seizures of amphetamine/methamphetamine precursors) reported more seizures of ephedrine/pseudoephedrine and only 11 countries (22 per cent) reported more seizures of P-2-P related precursors.
• Seizure data also show that the bulk of methamphetamine in North America (i.e. Mexico) continues being illicitly manufactured out of P-2-P related precursors even though in both the United States and Canada most ATS precursors seized were still ephedrine/pseudoephedrine related over the 2020-2024 period.
• In East and South-East Asia ephedrine and pseudoephedrine continue to dominate. The use of P-2-P related precursors, however, has been emerging in this subregion as well.
• The same applies to Africa, with ephedrine/pseudoephedrine dominating but P-2-P related precursors emerging in some countries as well (notably in South Africa and Kenia).
• The use of P-2-P related substances is widespread in Europe, though mainly used in the manufacture of amphetamine. Use of P-2-P related precursors
• In South-West Asia, notably in Afghanistan, locally grown ephedra has played a significant role in the clandestine manufacture of methamphetamine in recent years though some clandestine manufacture of methamphetamine appears to have shifted to ephedrine and pseudoephedrine in more recent years.