Global trade in cocaine and methamphetamine is expanding, UN report finds

239 kilos of cocaine base paste were seized by the PM and PRF, in Alvorada (TO), on Wednesday (24) 2026.
Disclosure/PMTO
The global illicit drug market is experiencing a strong expansion, driven by historic levels in cocaine production and methamphetamine seizures. The diagnosis appears in the UN World Drug Report, released this Friday (26), which raises the alarm for the rapid proliferation of new synthetic substances created to fill the space left by the collapse in the supply of heroin.
According to the most recent data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), consolidated in 2024, the global manufacture of pure cocaine reached the mark of 4.1 thousand tons. The volume represents a four-fold increase in just a decade. At the same pace, the methamphetamine market is registering an estimated growth of 13% per year, an indicator calculated based on the volume of seizures by security forces.
"We have witnessed an unprecedented spike in new types of drugs on the market and, worryingly, some are more potent or dangerous than before", warned Monica Juma, executive director of UNODC, in an official statement.
The transition to synthetics
The dynamics of international drug trafficking have undergone a change at starting in 2023, when the Taliban banned the cultivation of opium in Afghanistan - historically the world's largest producer of the raw material heroin. With no signs of recovery in the Afghan crop, the global supply of heroin plummeted.
Trucks with wood that hid liquid cocaine
However, the market vacuum began to be filled by an avalanche of highly dangerous synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl and nitazenes (even more potent substances). This transition has drawn a new map of global consumption:
Europe: The continent registered an increase of more than 80% in the identification of these New Psychoactive Substances (NSP).
Oceania: The growth was even greater, jumping 150%.
North America: A region where fentanyl had already practically replaced heroin, there was a 10% increase in new synthetic variants.
Change in the profile of consumption and increase in crack
In addition to the increase in production, the UN highlights that cocaine has become cheaper, purer and has changed its consumption profile. Qualitative research indicates that the drug is no longer restricted to nightlife and has been integrated into the daily routine of users, expanding to different social environments.
In the wake of this greater supply, the report details an outbreak in crack consumption among socioeconomically vulnerable populations, with addicts migrating from heroin to the cocaine derivative. Data from rehabilitation centers in Western and Central Europe confirm that this rise in crack is ongoing and has been gaining strength since 2015.
*With information from Reuters.

Source: G1