UN Report Warns Record Global Drug Use and Surge in Synthetic Drugs, Cocaine and Methamphetamine

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released its World Drug Report 2026 warning that global drug consumption has risen to a record 331 million people in 2024 – 6.2 % of the world’s 15‑64‑year‑old population – a 34 % increase since 2014. Cannabis remains the most widely used substance (256 million users), followed by opioids (63 million), amphetamines (32 million), cocaine (25 million) and ecstasy (21 million). The report recorded 755 new psychoactive substances in circulation, 118 of them reported for the first time, and noted that seizures now contain five times more drug types than in 2000.

Cocaine production hit an all‑time high of more than 4 000 tonnes of pure product in 2024, up four‑fold over the past decade, while methamphetamine trafficking is growing about 13 % annually as new routes open across Africa, the Near and Middle East and parts of Europe. Synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, nitazenes and “orphines” are expanding rapidly, driven in part by the Taliban’s 2022 ban on Afghan opium cultivation, which has shifted markets toward these more potent alternatives.

The UN cautioned that the shift toward synthetic drugs could cause a permanent change in the global narcotics market and increase health harms. 2024 also saw a record level of drug seizures worldwide. Regional data show Colombia’s coca‑leaf cultivation rose 3.5 % to 261 000 ha, while Mexico is now the world’s third‑largest producer of illicit opioids. The UN’s findings underscore rising violence linked to the drug trade in Latin America and Europe and call for stronger international coordination to curb the expanding market.