Global drug use is at a record high as the spread of potent synthetic drugs continues to spread

“We have seen an unprecedented surge of new types of drugs on the market, and worryingly, some of them are more potent or dangerous than before,” said Monica Juma, Executive Director from United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Estimated 331 million people use drugs in 2024, equivalent to 6.2 percent of the world’s population aged 15 to 64 years, up from 5.2 percent a decade ago.

Marijuana remains the most widely used drug, with 256 million users, followed by opioids (63 million), amphetamines (32 million), cocaine (25 million) and ecstasy (21 million).

This report also highlights the rapid evolution of synthetic drugs. In 2024, authorities identified 755 new psychoactive substances, including 118 reported for the first time, while the number of different drugs detected in seizures is now five times higher than before 2000.

“Markets are becoming very diverse, but perhaps also increasingly dangerous,” said Chloé Carpentier, the report’s lead researcher, in an interview with UN News.

“We don’t always know what we’re taking on, and first responders don’t know what they’re responding to.”

Reshaping global markets

UNODC said the global opioid market is reaching a turning point. Following a ban on opium cultivation in Afghanistan in 2022, illegal heroin production has declined sharply.

Although opium production in Myanmar increased from 420 tons in 2021 to more than 1,000 tons in 2025, opium production in Laos and Mexico has not been able to replace Afghanistan’s production of more than 6,000 tons in 2022.

Instead, traffickers appear to be increasingly turning to synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, nitazene, and orphine.

The report warns that the shift away from plant-based opiates could permanently change the global opioid market greater potential health risks because some synthetic opioids are even more potent than fentanyl.

“We’re seeing a lot of nitazene now,” Ms. Carpentier. “The concern is that synthetic opioids could replace heroin and cause more harm.”

Changing human trafficking patterns

Methamphetamine has become a truly global market, with new smuggling routes extending to the Near and Middle East, Africa, and parts of Europe.

The number of seizures has increased by an average of 13 percent annually, while suppliers have expanded beyond Myanmar to include North America, West and South Africa, and Southwest Asia.

At the same time, the cannabis trade is becoming increasingly international, with 57 countries and territories outside North America identifying the region as a source of seized cannabis between 2015 and 2024, compared with just 11 countries in the previous decade.

Impact of inequality

The report emphasizes that the harm associated with drug use is caused not only by the substance itself, but also by its effects poverty, homelessness, poor mental health and unequal access to health services.

Women remain much less likely than men to receive treatment despite progressing more rapidly toward drug dependence.

Globally, only one in 23 women with a substance use disorder receives treatment, compared with one in nine men. Women who inject drugs are also 20 percent more likely to contract HIV than men.

Young people remain another major concern.

“Adolescence is really a critical time when the brain is still developing,” Ms. Carpentier. “Drug use during adolescence will have long-term effects on cognition and behavior.”

Conflict adds to the crisis

People displaced by conflict and humanitarian emergencies face higher risks.

According to the report, refugees and internally displaced persons are more vulnerable to substance use disorders and often struggle to access treatment, as humanitarian responses prioritize food, shelter and other urgent needs.

Conflict and drug trafficking mutually reinforce each other, creating a cycle in which instability fuels black markets, while trading profits help fund further violence.

As drug markets become increasingly complex and interconnected, Carpentier said international cooperation remains essential, and stressed that “we cannot achieve anything without international cooperation.”