UN Reports Record 331 Million Drug Users as Synthetics Surge
The UNODC's annual report reveals a fourfold rise in cocaine output and a proliferation of potent new synthetic opioids, while nations from Kenya to Indonesia grapple with rising addiction.
The United Nations reported on Friday that an estimated 331 million people used drugs worldwide in 2024, a record high driven by a surge in synthetic substances. The figure, representing 6.2 per cent of the global population aged 15 to 64, marks a sharp rise from 5.2 per cent a decade earlier, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Cannabis remained the most widely consumed drug, the agency said, but the most striking shift was the proliferation of new psychoactive substances. Drug seizures in 2024 revealed five times more drug types than before 2000, with 755 such substances reported in circulation, 118 of them identified for the first time. Cocaine production reached roughly 4,100 metric tons of pure product, a fourfold increase in ten years, while methamphetamine seizures suggest output is growing 13 per cent annually. The purity of cocaine has risen and its price has fallen, the report noted, with qualitative research indicating its use has expanded beyond nightlife into daily routines, alongside a rise in crack cocaine use among disadvantaged groups in Western and Central Europe.
The global heroin market remains disrupted by the Taliban’s 2022 ban on poppy cultivation in Afghanistan, the UNODC stated. This has accelerated a turn toward synthetic opioids such as fentanyl and nitazenes. Reports of new synthetic opioids rose by more than 80 per cent in Europe and 150 per cent in Oceania in 2024, while North America, where fentanyl has largely displaced heroin, recorded a 10 per cent increase. The agency warned that a permanent shift from plant-based opiates to synthetics could alter consumption patterns and associated harms.
National authorities in several countries released their own data to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. Kenya’s anti-drug agency said 4.7 million people aged 15 to 65 use at least one substance, with the Coast region recording a prevalence of 29.3 per cent. Indonesia’s health ministry estimated 4.6 million users in 2026, with the highest proportion among 20- to 29-year-olds and a rise in cases among adolescents under 19. In Ghana, the interior minister described drug abuse as a growing threat to national security, while Nigerian officials cited 14.3 million people involved in drug use, nearly three times the global average.
The UNODC report is based on data consolidated through 2024. The agency said the number of new substances and the expansion of cocaine and methamphetamine markets point to an evolving illicit trade that continues to outpace regulatory controls. No projections were offered for future trends.
| Sub-Saharan African press | −0.20 | neutral |
|---|---|---|
| Latin American press | −0.60 | critical |
| Continental European press | 0.00 | neutral |
| Southeast Asian press | −0.70 | critical |
Sub-Saharan Africa calls for concrete action against drug trafficking, highlighting the link between drugs, conflict, and regional instability.
The bloc frames the issue as a security threat requiring a coordinated response, avoiding ideological debates and focusing on operational solutions.
It omits the role of poverty and lack of healthcare access as structural drivers of consumption, focusing instead on supply-side repression.
Latin America denounces the failure of prohibitionist policies and calls for a human rights and public health approach.
The bloc universalizes its regional experience of the failed war on drugs as a global truth, using UN data to legitimize demands for reform.
It omits that some countries in the region have seen consumption declines due to prevention policies, attributing every increase solely to repression.
Continental Europe calls for an evidence-based approach, prioritizing public health and harm reduction over repression.
The bloc adopts a neutral, technical tone, presenting its positions as rational and objective, in contrast to the emotional reactions of other blocs.
It omits the internal debate between countries with more liberal policies (Netherlands, Portugal) and more restrictive ones (Sweden, Finland), presenting a uniform continental stance.
Southeast Asia imposes a hard line against drugs, presenting them as the top threat to social stability and national security.
The bloc builds a hierarchy where drugs are at the top of emergencies, thus justifying exceptional measures and the suspension of individual guarantees.
It omits data showing the ineffectiveness of harsh penalties in reducing consumption, as well as successful harm reduction policies in other countries.
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