Illicit drug market stable globally – Report

Latest available data indicates that there has been no significant change in the global status quo regarding the use, production and health consequences of illicit drugs, the just-released 2012 World Drug Report (WDR) has revealed.

According to the report, the extent of global illicit drug use remained stable in the five years up to and including 2010, at between 3.4% and 6.6% of the adult population (persons aged 15-64).

The WDR said the two most widely used illicit drugs globally remain cannabis (global annual prevalence ranging from 2.6 to 5.0%) and ATS, excluding “ecstasy”, (0.3-1.2%) but data relating to their production are scarce.

Total production and cultivation of coca is known to be stable, while the production of opium has returned to levels comparable to 2009.

While the troubled waters of the world’s illicit drug markets may appear to be stagnant, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) who produced the report, said shifts and changes in their flows and currents can be observed below the surface.

“These are significant and also worrying, not because of how they currently impact on the data but because they are proof of the resilience and adaptability of illicit drug suppliers and users and because of the potential future repercussions of those shifts and changes in the world’s major drug markets,” the UN agency stated.

The report indicated that opioids continue to be the dominant drug type accounting for treatment demand in Asia and Europe and also contribute considerably to treatment demand in Africa, North America and Oceania.

By Ekow Quandzie