Cultivation of cannabis continues in virtually every country worldwide, but certain dynamics may be discerned at global level.Trends reported on cannabis cultivation, as reported by Member States, suggest a prevalent increasing trend as of 2020, followed by a slowing down and apparent decline…
Cannabis herb seizures stabilized at high levels in 2024, with trafficking largely being intra-regional. But some new inter-regional flows, notably from North America, have emerged in recent years.Cannabis herb trafficking is global, with seizures suggesting a concentration in Africa and the…
The use of specific cultivation practices, in parallel with a shift toward indoor cannabis cultivation, has likely contributed to increasing cannabis herb potency, notably in industrialized countries. These developments, alongside an ever-broader variety of cannabis products, are likely being…
Cannabis resin seizures indicate a contracting market, as cannabis herb (with high levels of THC) is increasingly replacing cannabis resin.Cannabis resin seizures showed an upward trend until 2020 but have since fallen sharply across all regions – by more than 50 per cent globally – pointing to a…
Cannabis seizures stabilized at high levels in 2024.Global seizures of cannabis herb and resin stabilized at high levels in 2024, following increases over the 2019-2023 period. However, whether the higher seizures, and their possible impact on supply, may be linked to the reported decline in the…
The global NPS market continues to evolve rapidly, with new substances entering the market and shifting preferences.By 2025, the total number of NPS identified by Member States since 2005 grew close to 1,500 which – despite the scheduling of new substances in 2025 – is more than four times the…
The illicit ketamine market has expanded beyond Asia, with rising use and emerging harms in new regions.Once concentrated in East and South-East Asia, several countries with time-series data (for example, the United Kingdom, Australia or the United States) have recorded an increase in the use of…
Cannabis use remains widespread globally, with steady long-term growth.Prevalence of past-year cannabis use is highest in North America, Australia and New Zealand, and West and Central Africa, while North America and South Asia have the highest number of people who use cannabis.Cannabis use has…
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…
The number of NPS on the global market increased strongly in 2024 following a short period of decline between 2021 and 2023.The number of NPS on the global market rose by 30 per cent in 2024 compared to 2023 and reached a new record high of 755 substances – the number rose almost five-fold compared…
Cannabis continues to be the most widely produced, trafficked and consumed drug worldwide in 2024. As in previous years, seizures of cannabis herb exceeded those of cannabis resin.
While remaining at low levels in recent years, seizures of plant-based NPS are increasingly dominated by kratom, followed by khat.In contrast to the upward trend in seizures of synthetic NPS, seizures of plants-based drugs fluctuated while remaining at low levels over the 2021-2024 period. Overall…
