Cocaine seizures continue to rise and remain concentrated in the Americas and Western and Central Europe.In Europe, Spain reported the largest quantities seized in 2024, followed by France, Belgium and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, marking a change from previous years when Belgium reported the…
Trafficking of cocaine remains concentrated in the Americas and Western Europe though data show that all continents are affectedColombia, followed by Peru and Brazil were identified as the main departing countries of cocaine shipments worldwide over the period 2020-2024, but trafficking routes vary…
The use of amphetamines has distinct regional patterns; past-year use is generally higher among men (0.85 per cent) than women (0.34 per cent) globally.The largest markets for ATS, mainly methamphetamine, remain East and South-East Asia and North America. The highest past-year use of amphetamines…
Though overall drug sales via the dark web appear to be rather resilient, darknet markets are highly volatile and frequently appear only to disappear quickly.Unlike major e-commerce platforms on the clear net, darknet marketplaces typically have short lifespans – averaging just 1 year and 4 months…
Darknet sales, mostly drug related, increased to around US$2.5 billion in 2025 – and are increasingly driven by wholesale sales while the bulk of retail online sales takes place on social media.
Darknet market sales (mostly drug-related) reached some US…
More countries perceived an increase in drug-related deaths in 2024 than a decrease.Toxicological findings reported by 66 countries suggest that opioids are by far the most common substance involved in direct drug-related deaths, with cocaine now ranking second after overtaking (albeit by a small…
Heroin and morphine seizures remain concentrated in Asia.In line with the concentration of opium production in Asia, almost two thirds (64 per cent) of global heroin and morphine seizures occurred in Asia in 2024, notably in South-Western Asia and, to a lesser extent, in East and South-East Asia.In…
Drug mixtures present on the drugs market may cause additional harms alongside those traditionally observed, due to issues such as user-unknown content, varying contents, the presence of harmful ingredients, or possible drug interactions, to name a few.New drug mixtures such as "tuci" pink cocaine…
Treatment coverage remains low globally, with strong regional and drug-specific differences.Only a small proportion of people with drug use disorders receive treatment, with coverage highest in Europe and lowest in Africa and Asia. Across all regions, the estimated treatment coverage is lower for…
The limited data available suggest that pathways into drug-related treatment and the types of treatment vary between regionsData from 61 countries suggest that pathways of referral vary by (sub)region: for example, in Africa, referral by friends and family or self-referral is most common, while in…
Global availability, coverage and accessibility of drug-related treatment varies across intervention types.Not all types of pharmacological treatment, psychosocial interventions and rehabilitation and aftercare are available in all countries. Opioid agonist maintenance therapy and opioid antagonist…
Data on specific population groups remain limited.The available information suggests higher levels of drug use, drug use disorders and injecting drug use among sex workers, people experiencing homelessness and those with severe mental illness compared with the general population, while these tend…
