Angela Me is Head of Research and Trend Analysis at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). In particular, he directs the world drug report published each year by this institution.
In 2022, almost 300 million people used drugs, according to the latest annual report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), or 20% more than ten years ago. How is this increase explained, taking into account the greater resources implemented to combat traffic and limit consumption?
The first reason is the increase in population. There are more of us on Earth and therefore more of us doing all kinds of things and taking drugs. But this increase is also due in part to the increase in the percentage of people who have used drugs. In the last ten years, most drugs have seen an increase in their consumption around the world. In particular, cocaine, whose consumption is increasing especially in Europe, but not only in it. Cannabis use has also increased over the last decade. Above all, we have also observed this year the increase in the consumption of stimulants, in particular methamphetamine, while for tranquilizers (medicines with sedative effects), the market is quite stable. In Europe, for example, but also in Southeast Asia, an entire generation of heroin users continues to age.
However, there is actually no research that establishes a cause-and-effect relationship that leads to drug use. Of course, we have identified certain recurring factors, including mental health. The increase in mental health disorders, which is particularly significant during Covid, is related to drug use and dependence. Another factor is the availability of substances. This supply is always linked to demand, and one leads to the other, like a vicious circle.
This article is taken from “Le Monde special issue – Drug traffickers: their networks, their crimes, the response”November-December 2024, on sale at newsstands or online by visiting our store website.
This vicious circle that you speak of especially affects cocaine. Recent figures, in terms of seizure and consumption, show that its diffusion is massive, within a market associated with sometimes uncontrollable violence, both in South America and Europe. Do you consider that this substance is the priority for action at the international level?
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