Global opium production and cocaine manufacture, 1998–2020. Global cocaine manufacture, which had fallen by 37 percent over the period 2006–2014, more than doubled over the period 2014–2019, rising by 4 percent in 2019 to reach an estimated 1,784 tons (expressed at a purity of 100 percent). The marked increase in global cocaine manufacture since 2014 has primarily been the result of changes in Colombia, which accounts for the majority (64 percent in 2019) of the global estimated manufacture of cocaine. Increases in cocaine manufacture in 2018 and 2019 took place despite declines in the area under coca bush cultivation in Colombia during that period, owing to ongoing increases in “productive areas” under coca bush cultivation and improvements in the yield. [“Agricultural intensification” in coca production. –Desdemona] Graphic: UNODC
Global opium production and cocaine manufacture, 1998–2020. Global cocaine manufacture, which had fallen by 37 percent over the period 2006–2014, more than doubled over the period 2014–2019, rising by 4 percent in 2019 to reach an estimated 1,784 tons (expressed at a purity of 100 percent). The marked increase in global cocaine manufacture since 2014 has primarily been the result of changes in Colombia, which accounts for the majority (64 percent in 2019) of the global estimated manufacture of cocaine. Increases in cocaine manufacture in 2018 and 2019 took place despite declines in the area under coca bush cultivation in Colombia during that period, owing to ongoing increases in “productive areas” under coca bush cultivation and improvements in the yield. [“Agricultural intensification” in coca production. –Desdemona] Graphic: UNODC

By Pia Lee-Brago
28 June 2021

(The Philippine Star) – Around 275 million people used illegal drugs worldwide in the last year of unprecedented upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, up by 22 percent from 2010, and it is “business as usual” again for drug traffickers, according to the latest annual world drug report by the United Nations [World Drug Report 2021].

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)’s World Drug Report 2021, which provides an overview of global drug markets and their impact on people’s health and livelihoods, shows that drug markets have swiftly resumed operations after the initial disruption at the onset of the pandemic – a burst that has triggered or accelerated certain pre-existing trafficking dynamics across the global drug market.

Cumulative number of internationally controlled drugs in 2020 and new psychoactive substances (NPS) identified at the global level, 2005–2020. Up until the end of 2020, a total of 1,047 NPS had been reported to UNODC. Several have since disappeared from the market, while others have been placed under international control and are therefore no longer considered NPS. The number of opioid NPS in Member States has risen sharply in recent years, from just one substance in 2009 to 14 in 2015 and 58 in 2019.207 In fact, the emergence of new synthetic opioid receptor agonists, which are often fentanyl analogues, and, more recently, other synthetic opioids (opioids belonging to other chemical groups), has been the cause of major concern, as they have proved particularly harmful and have led to an increasing number of NPS-related deaths, in particular in North America and, to a lesser extent, in Europe. Graphic: UNODC
Cumulative number of internationally controlled drugs in 2020 and new psychoactive substances (NPS) identified at the global level, 2005–2020. Up until the end of 2020, a total of 1,047 NPS had been reported to UNODC. Several have since disappeared from the market, while others have been placed under international control and are therefore no longer considered NPS. The number of opioid NPS in Member States has risen sharply in recent years, from just one substance in 2009 to 14 in 2015 and 58 in 2019.207 In fact, the emergence of new synthetic opioid receptor agonists, which are often fentanyl analogues, and, more recently, other synthetic opioids (opioids belonging to other chemical groups), has been the cause of major concern, as they have proved particularly harmful and have led to an increasing number of NPS-related deaths, in particular in North America and, to a lesser extent, in Europe. Graphic: UNODC

Among these are increasingly larger shipments of illicit drugs, a rise in the frequency of overland and waterway routes used for trafficking, greater use of private planes for the purpose of drug trafficking, and an upsurge in the use of contactless methods to deliver drugs to end-consumers.

The new report reveals that drug traffickers have quickly recovered from initial setbacks caused by lockdown restrictions and are operating at pre-pandemic levels once again, driven in part by a rise in the use of technology and cryptocurrency payments, operating outside the regular financial system.

“The resilience of drug markets during the pandemic has demonstrated once again traffickers’ ability to adapt quickly to changed environments and circumstances,” according to the report. […]

Global quantities of cocaine seized, by region, 1998–2019. Quantities of cocaine seized reached record levels in 2019. In 2019, the global quantity of cocaine seized increased by 9.6 percent compared with the preceding year to reach 1,436 tons (of varying purities), a record high. The 90 percent increase in the quantities of cocaine seized between 2009 and 2019 is likely a reflection of a combination of factors, including an increase in cocaine manufacture (50 per cent between 2009 and 2019) and a subsequent increase in cocaine trafficking, as well as an increase in the efficiency of law enforcement, which may have contributed to an increase in the overall interception rate. Graphic: UNODC
Global quantities of cocaine seized, by region, 1998–2019. Quantities of cocaine seized reached record levels in 2019. In 2019, the global quantity of cocaine seized increased by 9.6 percent compared with the preceding year to reach 1,436 tons (of varying purities), a record high. The 90 percent increase in the quantities of cocaine seized between 2009 and 2019 is likely a reflection of a combination of factors, including an increase in cocaine manufacture (50 per cent between 2009 and 2019) and a subsequent increase in cocaine trafficking, as well as an increase in the efficiency of law enforcement, which may have contributed to an increase in the overall interception rate. Graphic: UNODC

Among the key findings of the report: between 2010-2019 the number of people using drugs increased by 22 percent, owing in part to increase in the global population; roughly 200 million people used cannabis in 2019, representing four percent of the global population; the number of cannabis users has increased by nearly 18 percent over the past decade; an estimated 20 million people used cocaine in 2019, corresponding to 0.4 percent of the global population; roughly 50,000 people died from opioid overdoses in the US in 2019, more than double the 2010 figure, and Fentanyl and its analogs now are involved in most of the deaths.

According to latest global estimates, about 5.5 percent of the population aged between 15 and 64 years have used drugs at least once in the past year, while 36.3 million people, or 13 percent of the total number of persons who use drugs, suffer from drug use disorders.

Globally, over 11 million people are estimated to inject drugs, half of whom are living with hepatitis C. Opioids continue to account for the largest burden of disease attributed to drug use. [more]

Illegal drug trade back to business as usual – UN