Illegal drug trade back to business as usual – UN

MANILA, Philippines — Around 275 million people used illegal drugs worldwide in the last year of unprecedented upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, up by 22 percent from 2010, and it is “business as usual” again for drug traffickers, according to the latest annual world drug report by the United Nations.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)’s World Drug Report 2021, which provides an overview of global drug markets and their impact on people’s health and livelihoods, shows that drug markets have swiftly resumed operations after the initial disruption at the onset of the pandemic – a burst that has triggered or accelerated certain pre-existing trafficking dynamics across the global drug market.

Among these are increasingly larger shipments of illicit drugs, a rise in the frequency of overland and waterway routes used for trafficking, greater use of private planes for the purpose of drug trafficking, and an upsurge in the use of contactless methods to deliver drugs to end-consumers.

The new report reveals that drug traffickers have quickly recovered from initial setbacks caused by lockdown restrictions and are operating at pre-pandemic levels once again, driven in part by a rise in the use of technology and cryptocurrency payments, operating outside the regular financial system.

“The resilience of drug markets during the pandemic has demonstrated once again traffickers’ ability to adapt quickly to changed environments and circumstances,” according to the report.

The Report noted that in the last 24 years, cannabis potency had increased by as much as four times in parts of the world, even as the percentage of adolescents who perceived the drug as harmful fell by as much as 40 percent. This perception gap prevails despite evidence that cannabis use is associated with a variety of health and other harms, especially among regular long-term users. Most countries have reported a rise in the use of cannabis during the pandemic.

“Lower perception of drug use risks has been linked to higher rates of drug use, and the findings of UNODC’s 2021 World Drug Report highlight the need to close the gap between perception and reality to educate young people and safeguard public health,” said UNODC executive director Ghada Waly.

Access to drugs has also become simpler than ever with online sales, and major drug markets on the dark web are now worth some $315 million annually. Contactless drug transactions, such as through the mail, are also on the rise, a trend possibly accelerated by the pandemic.

Rapid technological innovation, combined with the agility and adaptability of drug traffickers who are using new online platforms to sell drugs and other substances, are likely to increase the availability of illicit drugs.

“The theme of this year’s International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is ‘Share facts on drugs. Save lives,’ emphasizing the importance of strengthening the evidence base and raising public awareness, so that the international community, governments, civil society, families and youth can make informed decisions, better target efforts to prevent and treat drug use, and tackle world drug challenges,” Waly added.

Among the key findings of the report: between 2010-2019 the number of people using drugs increased by 22 percent, owing in part to increase in the global population; roughly 200 million people used cannabis in 2019, representing four percent of the global population; the number of cannabis users has increased by nearly 18 percent over the past decade; an estimated 20 million people used cocaine in 2019, corresponding to 0.4 percent of the global population; roughly 50,000 people died from opioid overdoses in the US in 2019, more than double the 2010 figure, and Fentanyl and its analogues now are involved in most of the deaths.

According to latest global estimates, about 5.5 percent of the population aged between 15 and 64 years have used drugs at least once in the past year, while 36.3 million people, or 13 percent of the total number of persons who use drugs, suffer from drug use disorders.

Globally, over 11 million people are estimated to inject drugs, half of whom are living with hepatitis C. Opioids continue to account for the largest burden of disease attributed to drug use.

COVID-19 has triggered innovation and adaptation in drug prevention and treatment services through more flexible models of service delivery. Many countries have introduced or expanded telemedicine services due to the pandemic, which for drug users means that healthcare workers can now offer counselling or initial assessments over the phone and use electronic systems to prescribe controlled substances.

While the impact of COVID-19 on drug challenges is not yet fully known, the analysis suggests that the pandemic has brought increasing economic hardship that is likely to make illicit drug cultivation more appealing to fragile rural communities.

The social impact of the pandemic – driving a rise in inequality, poverty and mental health conditions particularly among already vulnerable populations – represents factors that could push more people into drug use.