Nearly 300 M use drugs globally - UN report

The United Nations agency tackling crime and drug abuse released its annual World Drug Report warning that there are now nearly 300 million users globally, alongside an increase in trafficking.

- PIA LEE-BRAGO

According to the World Drug Report 2024 launched by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the number of people who use drugs rose to 292 million in 2022, a 20-percent increase over 10 years.

Cannabis remains the most widely used drug worldwide, according to the report, with 228 million users, followed by opioids with 60 million users.

The report also showed that 30 million people worldwide consume amphetamines, 23 million use cocaine and 20 million take ecstasy.

The UNODC found that nitazenes – a group of synthetic opioids that can be even more potent than fentanyl – have recently emerged in several high-income countries, resulting in an increase in overdose deaths.