UNODC World Drug Report 2023:
The UNODC World Drug Report 2023 (a yearly report) highlights the expanding illicit drug markets and the challenges they pose to health services and law enforcement.
Key findings:
- Over 296 million people worldwide used drugs in 2021, a 23% increase over the past decade.
- The increasing dominance of synthetic drugs, such as methamphetamine, and fentanyl which have transformed illicit drug markets due to their low cost and ease of production.
- Drug use disorder cases have surged by 45% in the last ten years
- Accelerated environmental devastation and crime caused by drug trafficking in the Amazon Basin.
- Only one in five individuals with drug use disorders received treatment in 2021, with significant regional disparities in access to treatment
- Illicit drug economies exacerbate conflicts, human rights abuses, and environmental devastation.
- Illicit drug trade finances non-state armed and insurgency groups in the Sahel region. Prioritizing public health in regulating med
UNODC:
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (est. 1997; HQ: Vienna) focuses on the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs, crime prevention and criminal justice, international terrorism, and political corruption.
- It is a member of the United Nations Development Group.
