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…
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…
Cannabis dominates the global number of seizure cases, followed by ATS (notably methamphetamine) and cocaine while cannabis and cocaine dominate seizures in terms of total weight.
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…
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.
The weight of cocaine seizures increased by 70 per cent between 2020 and 2024, reflecting an ongoing expansion of both the supply and demand for cocaine at the global level.
Seizures of opiates, expressed in heroin equivalents, fell by 65 per…
The dark web, consisting of a multitude of darknet markets, is part of the deep web, and can be used for a large number of illegal activities, including drug trafficking.The dark web is part of the deep web and can be accessed using specialized tools such as the TOR browser; while access itself is…
