UN Warns 755 New Drugs Flood Markets as Cocaine Output Tops 4,000 Tonnes
Updated
Updated · Al Jazeera English · Jun 26
UN Warns 755 New Drugs Flood Markets as Cocaine Output Tops 4,000 Tonnes
3 articles · Updated · Al Jazeera English · Jun 26
Summary
755 new psychoactive substances were circulating in 2024, including 118 first reported that year, as the UN said traffickers are rapidly introducing stronger synthetics to evade detection.
Five times more drug types were found in 2024 than four years earlier, with suppliers also filling demand left by the Taliban's 2022 opium ban in Afghanistan.
Synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, nitazenes and orphines are becoming more available, a shift the UN said could permanently reshape the market and increase harm to users.
Methamphetamine trafficking is growing about 13% a year and spreading through Africa, the Near and Middle East, and parts of Europe, while Syria's Captagon disruption may push users toward meth.
Cocaine production reached a record more than 4,000 tonnes of pure product in 2024—four times a decade earlier—as organized crime expands into both established and emerging markets.
Did the Taliban's opium ban unintentionally spark a deadlier global synthetic drug crisis?
How are Mexican cartels now operating methamphetamine labs across Europe and Africa?
Can the new US-led anti-cartel coalition succeed without Mexico's participation?
UNODC World Drug Report 2026: Synthetic Opioids, Expanding Markets, and the Urgent Need for Global Drug Policy Reform
Overview
The UNODC World Drug Report 2026 highlights a dramatic transformation in global drug markets, showing that punitive control measures have failed as illegal drug supply keeps expanding and markets adapt quickly. Shifting public perceptions and policy changes, especially in North America, have led to more legalization and decriminalization of cannabis, causing a sharp rise in both cannabis use and seizures. Over the past decade, the number of cannabis users grew by 40 percent, with more people aged 15-64 using the drug. Despite efforts to control drugs, deaths and harms continue to increase worldwide.