Seizures of methamphetamine in Asia continue to rise, even as the reported number of dismantled methamphetamine laboratories declines.Methamphetamine seizures in Asia reached a record high in 2024, while the number of dismantled (and reported) methamphetamine laboratories declined to its lowest…
Seizures of methamphetamine continued rising in South-East Asia while declining in East Asia.The largest quantities of methamphetamine worldwide were seized in East and South-East Asia, accounting for 48 per cent of the world’s total in 2024.Seizures of methamphetamine have been declining over the…
Methamphetamine seizures now dominate overall seizures of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) in the Near and Middle East/South-West Asia.Until 2022, ATS seizures in the subregion were dominated by amphetamine – notably “captagon” – but methamphetamine seizures have continued to rise since while…
Most methamphetamine trafficking remains intra-regional, although some inter-regional trafficking has also been detected in recent years.The largest markets for methamphetamine – and most intra-regional trafficking – remain in East and South-East Asia and North America, although trafficking has…
Overall, of the four major modes of transport used for drug trafficking – by land, water, air and mail (including courier services) – land or maritime routes (depending on the specific drug) dominate in terms of volume.Around 2024, there appeared to be an increased preference for smaller shipments…
Seven substances dominate the global availability of opioids under international control for medical consumption.Expressed in S-DDDs (defined daily doses for statistical purposes), methadone, followed by hydrocodone, fentanyl, buprenorphine, oxycodone, codeine (including preparations) and morphine…
The type of opioid that is most used non-medically varies across regions and countries.With the highest population globally, Asia is also the region with the highest number of people who use opioids.The type of opioid used differs across regions, with opiates such as heroin dominating in Asia and…
Similarly to most internationally controlled drugs, the use of NPS among adolescents is higher than among the general population, but the difference between adolescent boys and girlsis lower for NPS than for controlled drugs.Limited data suggest that NPS use is generally higher among school…
In East and South-East Asia, limited regular data collection makes it difficult to assess long-term trends in opioid use. However, data on people registered for drug use and people in drug treatment indicate a decline in opioid (mainly heroin) use over the past 10 to 15 years.In most of East and…
The use of buprenorphine and methadone for medical purposes continues to expandMethadone and buprenorphine are the main substances used in substitution treatment for opioid dependent persons worldwide. Availability of both substances for medical use rose 10-fold over the last two decades and…
Opium production and opiate seizures are closely linked, but stockpiling has partly mitigated recent supply shocks.Opiate seizures have generally moved in parallel with opium production over time, but production has been far more volatile. Following the transfer of power in Afghanistan in 2021 and…
Amphetamine seizures rose strongly until 2020-2021, declined thereafter and showed a modest rebound in 2024.Amphetamine seizures remain concentrated in the Near and Middle East (57 per cent of total seizures between 2020 and 2024) and Europe (26 per cent); in the former subregion much of the drug…
