UNODC World Drug Report 2023

UNODC World Drug Report 2023

News: 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 number of people who suffer from drug use disorders has reached 39.5 million, a 45 percent increase over 10 years.
• Only one in five people suffering from drug-related disorders were in treatment for drug use in 2021 with widening disparities in access to treatment across regions.
• Youth populations are the most vulnerable to using drugs and are also more severely affected by substance use disorder in several regions.
• Large inequalities in access and availability of controlled drugs for medical use persist, particularly for pain management. The disparity is particularly prevalent between the global North and South, and across urban and rural areas.
• Drug trafficking is accelerating environmental devastation, particularly in the Amazon Basin. The production of illicit drugs contributes to deforestation, pollution, and the use of harmful chemicals, leading to ecological harm and the loss of biodiversity.

Recommendations:
• The report calls for increased monitoring of public health impacts as regulatory changes and clinical trials involving psychedelics progress.
• Prioritizing public health, prevention, and access to treatment services worldwide to ensure that drug challenges do not leave more people behind.

About UNODC:
• The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is a United Nations office that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention.
• It was created by combining the United Nations International Drug Control Program (UNDCP) and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division in the United Nations Office at Vienna.
• UNODC works to make the world a place without the dangers of drug abuse and the crimes following it. It also works to improve crime prevention and to assist with criminal justice reform in a number of countries.