Global drug markets are undergoing a rapid transformation as traffickers exploit new technologies, geopolitical instability, and emerging drug types to expand into new markets, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). In its 2026 World Drug Report released on Friday, UNODC warned that organised crime groups are increasingly using synthetic drugs, alternative trafficking routes, and digital technologies to evade law enforcement while expanding their global reach.
The report estimates that 331 million people, about 6.2 percent of the global population aged between 15 and 64—used drugs in 2024, up from 5.2 percent a decade earlier. Cannabis remains the world’s most commonly used drug, with an estimated 256 million users, followed by opioids (63 million), amphetamines (32 million), cocaine (25 million), and ecstasy (21 million).
UNODC Executive Director Monica Juma said the proliferation of new and increasingly potent drugs is having devastating consequences on public health, security and economic development. “We have seen an unprecedented spike in new types of drugs on the market, and worryingly, some are more potent or dangerous than before,” Juma said.
She warned that drug trafficking networks continue to fuel violence, undermine economies, and destroy livelihoods, calling for stronger international cooperation, intelligence sharing, law enforcement, and investment in prevention and treatment programmes. She said organised crime groups are adopting, shifting away from plant-based opioids towards synthetics, with global consequences.
The report highlights a sharp increase in synthetic drugs as criminal networks seek to circumvent regulations and law enforcement. According to UNODC, the number of different drug types detected in seizures in 2024 was five times higher than before 2000. It also identified 755 new psychoactive substances circulating globally in 2024, including 118 reported for the first time.
The report says the global opioid market is undergoing significant change following Afghanistan’s 2022 ban on opium cultivation, which dramatically reduced heroin production. Although Myanmar has increased opium production, UNODC says the rise is insufficient to offset Afghanistan’s decline, prompting traffickers to shift towards highly potent synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, nitazenes, and other laboratory-produced substances.
Methamphetamine trafficking is also expanding rapidly beyond its traditional markets. The report notes that new trafficking routes have emerged across Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Europe, while suppliers from North America, West Africa, and South-West Asia are increasingly competing in the global market. In the Middle East, disruption of the illicit captagon trade following political changes in Syria is also contributing to increased methamphetamine use in the region. Meanwhile, changing public attitudes and legalization policies in some jurisdictions have contributed to growing cannabis use worldwide.
UNODC estimates that cannabis use has increased by 40 percent over the past decade, while international trafficking has expanded beyond regional markets as exports from North America reach more countries. The report also highlights continued growth in cocaine production, which has increased more than fourfold over the past decade to over 4,000 tonnes of pure cocaine annually.
Organised crime groups are increasingly targeting emerging markets in Africa and Asia, where cocaine seizures have recorded some of the fastest growth rates globally, even though overall volumes remain relatively low. Beyond trafficking, the report warns that drug use continues to contribute to crime, family violence, poor health, and social instability.
However, UNODC notes that many of these harms are closely linked to broader social challenges such as poverty, homelessness, mental illness, and limited access to treatment and social support services. The agency says addressing these underlying factors, alongside stronger international cooperation against organised crime, will be essential in reducing the growing global drug threat-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
