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…
Stimulant drug use varies across countries and regionsAmphetamines are the most commonly used stimulant drug globally, followed by cocaine and "ecstasy"-type substances. Men show higher use across all stimulant drugs, though the ratio of men to women is lower for "ecstasy"-type substances.Cocaine…
Synthetic drug markets vary widely, with different substances dominating across countries and regionsThe most commonly used synthetic drugs differ by region: non-medical use of tramadol dominates West and Central Africa and methamphetamine is most prevalent in East and South-East Asia.New…
Fentanyls continue to account for the largest share of harm from the non-medical use of NPS synthetic opioids, in particular in North America, but the arrival on the market of nitazenes and orphines , which are often more potent than fentanyls, has led to a number of acute emergencies and fatal…
Between 2000 and 2020, cannabis in Western and Central Europe and parts of South-Eastern Europe became more potent, more affordable and more frequently used in a number of countries, although these trends have stabilized in recent years.Despite this stabilization, the number of cannabis-related…
Coca bush cultivation and potential cocaine manufacture reached record highs in 2024The global area under coca cultivation reached a record 385,100 hectares in 2024 – almost triple the 2014 level – while global illicit cocaine manufacture reached 4,100 tons (range: 3,800-4,700 tons) in 2024, more…
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…
