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…
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…
Seizures of key pharmaceutical opioids show distinct regional patterns by substance.While fentanyl seizures remain overwhelmingly concentrated in North America (> 99 per cent), other pharmaceutical opioids dominate seizures in different regions: codeine in West and Central Africa and South Asia…
Myanmar is now the world’s largest opium producer, followed by Afghanistan, Mexico and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.In Myanmar, opium production continues to be concentrated in the eastern parts of the country, notably in Shan State and in Kachin. This pattern has not changed over the last…
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…
Opium prices show diverging trends, reflecting shifting supply dynamics across producing countries.Opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar, increased by 17 per cent in 2025 and more than doubled since 2020, with increases reported across all poppy producing states; this was mirrored by a similar…
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.
Trend data on seizures suggest that the trafficking in (and misuse of) pharmaceutical opioids increased strongly over the last decade, reaching record levels in 2024.The largest volumes of pharmaceutical opioids were seized in Africa (60 per cent – mostly in West and Central Africa) and Asia (33…
