The limited data available suggest that most overdose deaths involve multiple substances.Toxicological findings from 22 countries show that a median of 67 per cent of overdose deaths involve more than one substance.In 17 countries with available data, opioids and sedatives/tranquilizers are most…
Cannabis, ATS and opioids account for the highest numbers of people in drug-related treatment globally, with variation between regions and countries.In most reporting countries, cannabis or opioids are the most common primary drug among those in treatment. However, in the Caribbean, South America…
The use of cannabis and stimulant drugs continues to increaseGlobally, the use of cannabis and stimulant drugs such as amphetamines, cocaine and "ecstasy" increased in 2024, while the use of opioids remained largely stable.
Progress on strengthening the prevention and treatment of substance abuse – as formulated in SDG target 3.5 – remains limited.Coverage of treatment interventions for substance use disorders remains low globally, with new estimates for this indicator suggesting that, at the minimum, 8.2 per cent of…
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…
Seizures of synthetic NPS have trended upwards since 2018 – though they still remain below the peak reported in 2012.The number of countries reporting seizures of synthetic NPS rose from, on average, just 5 over the period 2000-2004 to 80 over the period 2010-2014, before peaking over the period…
Socio-economic profiles of people in drug-related treatment vary between regions, although this likely also partly reflects broader regional socio-economic differences.Based on data from 56 countries, employment status varies by region and subregion: in Asia, people in treatment are more likely to…
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…
Limited data suggest stable or declining NPS use among young people, with some exceptions.Time-series data on NPS use among young people are scarce and largely limited to high-income countries.Where data are available, the use of NPS is generally stable or declining, as corroborated by recent…
Globally, the use of synthetic NPS continues to be lower than most internationally controlled drugs.Based on the available data – mainly from high-income countries – the use of synthetic NPS is generally lower than the use of drugs under international control. By contrast, the scarce data on plant-…
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…
