Methamphetamine and other ATS remain the leading substances for which people seek drug treatment in East and South-East Asia.The number of people receiving treatment for ATS use, mainly methamphetamine, has remained stable or declined in the majority of reporting countries – with the exception of…
Limited data suggest that cannabis use in Africa is higher than the global average, with large differences between women and men.Limited data suggest that cannabis use in Africa is higher among the general population aged 15-64 than the global average – driven by relatively high prevalence among…
The non-medical use of cannabis in Australia has remained broadly stable, while trends in New Zealand have levelled off after earlier growth.In Australia, cannabis use has remained relatively stable over the past 2 decades. However, between 2019 and 2022/23 cannabis use increased among women (…
The synthetic drugs market in the Near and Middle East remains dynamic, following disruptions in the supply of “captagon”.The Near and Middle East accounted for 77 per cent of global “captagon” seizures in 2020–2024, with production mainly in the Syrian Arab Republic and Lebanon and trafficking…
In Australia, multiple drug-related indicators show an increase in cocaine use and associated harm between 2010 and 2021, particularly among men. However, cocaine still plays a relatively small role in overall drug-related harm, with only 2.7 per cent of people in drug-related treatment reporting…
Australia and New Zealand have the highest global annual prevalence of use of "ecstasy", where it is mostly used in capsule and crystal form.In Australia, the use and availability of "ecstasy" declined during the COVID-19 pandemic but have started to increase again in 2023 (while not yet reaching…
Africa has increasingly become a transit and destination region for cocaine trafficking and use.Cocaine seizures in Africa have increased over 20-fold between 2015 and 2024 and an increasing number of seizures implicate African countries as transit or destination. In 2023, seizures en route to…
Asia has increasingly become a transit and destination region for cocaine trafficking and use over the past decade, although the growth in indicators of availability and use is moderate.Cocaine seizures in Asia increased more than sixfold between 2015 and 2024. Additionally, the number of seizures…
As intensive methamphetamine use has increased in both Australia and New Zealand, associated health harms have also increased.In Australia, hospitalizations and the number of people in drug-related treatment related to methamphetamine use have increased over the long-term, although recent data…
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…
