Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), an estimated 331 million people worldwide used drugs in 2024, representing 6.2% of the population aged 15 to 64—up from 5.2% a decade earlier. Cannabis was the most commonly used drug, with 256 million users, followed by opioids (63 million), amphetamines (32 million), cocaine (25 million), and ecstasy (21 million). The report highlights a rapid rise in synthetic drugs, with authorities identifying 755 new psychoactive substances in 2024, including 118 for the first time. The variety of drugs detected in seizures is now five times higher than before 2000. UNODC researchers emphasized the increased diversity and potential danger, noting challenges for users and first responders who may be uncertain about the substances involved.
The global opioid market is also transforming. Following Afghanistan’s 2022 opium cultivation ban, heroin production declined sharply. Although opium output in Myanmar rose from 420 tonnes in 2021 to over 1,000 tonnes in 2025, and increased in Laos and Mexico, these have not offset Afghanistan’s former production, which exceeded 6,000 tonnes in 2022. Traffickers appear to be shifting toward synthetic opioids such as fentanyls, nitazenes, and orphines. The report warns that this shift could permanently change the opioid market and increase health risks, as some synthetic opioids may be even more potent than fentanyl.
Methamphetamine trafficking has expanded globally, with new routes through the Near and Middle East, Africa, and parts of Europe. Seizures have increased on average by 13% annually, and suppliers now include North America, West and Southern Africa, and Southwest Asia, in addition to Myanmar. Cannabis trafficking has also become more international, with significantly more countries outside North America reporting North America as a source of seized cannabis between 2015 and 2024 compared to the previous decade.