The United Nations (UN) announced that 292 million people worldwide will use drugs in 2022, and drug use has increased by 20 percent in the last 10 years.
The “2024 World Drug Report”, which includes 2022 data, was shared with the public by the UN International Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
In the report, it was stated that the increase in drug use in the last 10 years was 20 percent and that one out of every 18 people between the ages of 15-64 worldwide used drugs in 2022.
In the report, which stated that 292 million people globally will use drugs in 2022, it was noted that the most commonly used drug is cannabis and 228 million people use this substance.
The report stated that approximately 60 million people use synthetic drugs called “opioids”, 30 million people use amphetamine-type substances, 23.5 million people use cocaine and 20 million people use ecstasy.
64 million people have health problems due to drugs
Emphasizing that there has been a significant increase in the number of people suffering from drug-related illnesses and waiting for treatment services, the report stated that 64 million people had various drug-related health problems in 2022.
It was stated that 1 in 11 of those who suffer from drug-related illnesses can find treatment, while this rate drops to 1 in 18 in female patients, and women are much more disadvantaged in this regard.
The report pointed out that access to health services varies from geography to geography, underlining that while 49 percent of patients in South America have the opportunity to receive drug-related treatment, this rate decreased to 4 percent in Central Asia and Transcaucasia.
13.9 million people injected drugs
The report, which also included the fatal health problems brought by drugs, shared the information that 13.9 million people used drugs by injecting them into their bodies in 2022, 1.6 million of them had HIV, 1.4 million had HIV and hepatitis C, and 6.8 million had hepatitis C virus.
In the report, which draws attention to the fact that injecting drug use continues to be an important factor in the global hepatitis C epidemic, it is stated that almost half of those who inject drugs carry hepatitis C disease. It was also stated that liver diseases caused by hepatitis C in general account for more than half of the deaths attributed to drug use.
It was also emphasized that there has been a significant increase in the number of people who have died as a result of drug use, approximately 500 thousand people died in 2019 due to drug use, and liver diseases caused by hepatitis C are one of the main causes of drug-related deaths. Such diseases account for more than half of the total number of deaths attributed to drug use.
Drug production and trafficking
In the report, which pointed out that there has been a significant increase in the supply and demand for cocaine in the world, it was explained that the coca tree from which cocaine is obtained is cultivated on an area of 354,900 hectares, and in 2022, a record high of 2,757 tons of cocaine was produced with an increase of 20 percent compared to the previous year.
It was stated that the global cocaine market continues to be concentrated in Western and Central Europe as well as the US, but is also spreading rapidly in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Southeast Europe.
Opium production in Afghanistan down 95 percent in one year
In the report, it was stated that in Afghanistan, where the global illegal opium production is the highest, there was a serious decline in 2023 compared to 2022, opium production decreased by 95 percent in 2023, while production in Myanmar, another country producing this substance, increased by 36 percent.
It was stated that the serious decline in Afghanistan was also significantly reflected in the global market, with production decreasing by 74 percent worldwide in 2023 compared to 2022, and that while 7,800 tons of opium was produced worldwide in 2022, this figure decreased to 1990 in 2023.
It was noted that this sharp decline was directly proportional to the ban decision taken by the Taliban administration in 2022, and after the ban decision, farmers in the country turned to planting cereals instead of opium.
2,27 tons of marijuana seized
The report also mentioned the amount of drugs seized by the security forces. Accordingly, 2,27 tons of cocaine, 1194 tons of cannabis resin, 6,168 tons of cannabis seeds were seized in 2022.
In addition, 572 tons of opium, 165 tons of pharmaceutical opioids, 76 tons of heroin, 22 tons of morphine and 536 tons of synthetic drugs were captured.
Worldwide in 2022, around 7 million people had to deal with the police due to drug offenses, while 2.7 million people were prosecuted and 1.6 million people were sentenced to imprisonment.
