The World Drug Report, published on Friday by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), revealed that the global drug trade is growing rapidly and new synthetic substances have reached record levels.
According to the report, 755 types of new psychoactive substances (NPS) were identified on the market in 2024, of which 118 were recorded for the first time. This represents a fivefold increase compared to four years ago.
UNODC Executive Director Monica Juma said, "We have witnessed an unprecedented increase in new drug types on the market, and worryingly, some are more potent or dangerous than before."
The Taliban's ban on poppy cultivation in Afghanistan in 2022 continues to affect heroin production and use, leading to the spread of more potent and easily produced synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, nitazenes, and orphenes. The UN warned that this could cause a permanent shift in the global market and "higher levels of harm" for users.
Methamphetamine trafficking is estimated to have grown by 13 percent annually based on seizure data. New routes and the expansion of production have created new markets, particularly in Africa, the Near and Middle East, and parts of Europe.
The fall of the Assad regime in Syria in 2024 led to disruptions and price increases in the market for Captagon, an amphetamine-like drug. The UN states that this could drive users towards methamphetamine.
Cocaine production has reached an all-time high, with a fourfold increase in ten years and over 4,000 tons of pure cocaine produced in 2024, according to the report. Organized crime groups continue to push the drug into both established and emerging markets to expand their customer base, while quality increases and prices fall.
