The production of cocaine, seizures and the use of all the highest record in 2023, the UN drug agency said Thursday, with the illicit market of the drug market in the fastest growth in the world.
Illegal production increased to 3,708 tons, almost 34 percent more than in 2022, and more than four times more than 10 years before, when it was in a minimum, said the UN Drug and Crime Office based in Vienna (UNODC) in its annual report.
The current increase is mainly due to an increase in the size of the area under illegal cultivation of coca shrubs in Colombia and updated performance data, he added.
Global cocaine seizures also recorded a maximum of 2,275 tons, marking a 68 percent increase in the four years to 2023. The number of cocaine users also grew to 25 million in 2023, compared to 17 million ten years before.
“Cocaine has become fashionable for the richest society,” said UNODC principal researcher Angela Me, pointing out a “vicious circle” of greater use and production.
While Colombia remains the key producer, cocaine traffickers are entering new markets in Asia and Africa, according to the report, with organized crimes groups of Western Balkans that increase their influence.
Cautious
“A new era of global instability has intensified the challenges to address the world drug problem, empower organized crimes groups and push drug use to historically high levels,” UNODC said.
In 2023, it is estimated that 6pc of the population between 15 and 64 used a medicine, compared to 5.2pc of the population in 2013.
Cannabis remains the most used drug.
The convulsions of amphetamine stimulants also reached a record in 2023, representing almost half of all global seizures of synthetic drugs, followed by synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, said UNODC.
The fall of the ruling Bashar al-Assad in Syria last December “has created uncertainty about the future of Captagon’s trade,” UNODC added.
Earlier this month, Syria said that the authorities had seized all the production facilities of the illicit stimulant, which became the greatest export of Syria under Assad.
“The latest 2024 and 2025 convulsions confirm that Captenda continues to flow, mainly to countries in the Arabian Peninsula, possibly indicating the release of previously accumulated stocks or continuous production in different locations,” UNODC said.
