The “cheap, quick and easy production” of synthetic drugs has profoundly changed many markets around the world, the UN warned on Sunday, pointing to “disastrous consequences”.
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Fentanyl, a synthetic opiate that is 50 times more potent than heroin, has “dramatically changed opioid use in North America,” according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in its annual report.
In 2021, it accounted for the largest number of overdose deaths in the region.
And the production of such products is likely to increase further.
The Vienna, Austria-based organization warns of the impact of the war in Ukraine, saying, “There are some indications that it could trigger an expansion of synthetic drug trafficking, with existing knowledge and important markets developing in the region.
UNODC also notes the situation in Afghanistan, where an expected decline in opium poppy cultivation, banned by the Taliban government, could lead to a shift towards methamphetamine production.
AFP
The country is already one of the main producers of the drug stimulant, “the world’s number one illicit synthetic drug”.
“We must intensify the fight against traffickers who take advantage of conflicts and global crises to expand drug production, especially synthetics,” UNODC Executive Director Kada Wali was quoted as saying in the press release.
The report also warns of the environmental consequences of the drug economy.
In the Amazon basin, cocoa cultivation, an “always unregistered supply” and “increasingly active networks”, “exacerbating criminal activities” such as illegal deforestation and wildlife trafficking.
Globally, “more than 296 million people used the drug in 2021, an increase of 23% in 10 years”, according to the UN, making cannabis the most widely used drug.
Even more alarmingly, the number of people with substance use disorders increased by 45% during the same period. However, only one in five is observed.
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