June 25,2021

Anne Murray 

The 2021 World Drug Report Urged International Collaboration in the Fight against Drug Trafficking.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime's (UNODC) 2021 World Drug Report, around 275 million individuals used drugs in 2020, with over 36 million suffering from drug use disorders. UNODC, based in Vienna, compiles data from its vast network of member countries in its annual World Drug Report, which was released on June 24. In the previous year, around 275 million people around the world used drugs, up from 226 million in 2010. This 22 percent increase can be attributed in part to a ten percent increase in world population over the last decade. Globally, the number of individuals using drugs is expected to increase by 11% by 2030.

The 2021 World Drug Report presents a global survey of opioids, cocaine, cannabis, amphetamine-type stimulants, and new psychoactive substances (NPS), as well as their influence on health, taking into account the COVID-19 pandemic's potential consequences. The COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced millions of people into unemployment and poverty around the world, has also led to an increase in drug usage, according to the UNODC. Low-income countries are the most vulnerable.

Compared with 2019, Afghanistan had a 37 percent rise in acreage used for illicit opium poppy cultivation in 2020, according to the 2021 World Drug Report. During the COVID epidemic, Afghanistan saw an increase in opium poppy cultivation, contributing for 85 percent of global opium production by 2020. The UNODC has urged countries throughout the world to increase international collaboration in the fight against drug trafficking.

Photo:webshot.