An estimated number 331 million people have used drugs in 2024, according to the UN World Drug Report 2026.
This was disclosed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), on Friday.
The report stated that the figure represents 6.2 percent of the global population aged 15 to 64, up from 5.2 percent recorded a decade ago.
The report noted that the figure rose from 5.2 per cent recorded a decade ago, indicating that more people are using drugs than ever before.
It also warned that synthetic substances are rapidly reshaping illicit drug markets and exposing vulnerable communities to greater health risks.
The Executive Director of UNODC, Monica Juma decried the record-high level of global drug use, attributing it to the spread of increasingly potent synthetic drugs.
“We have seen an unprecedented spike in new types of drugs on the market, and worryingly, some are more potent or dangerous than before,” Juma said.
The report provides an in-depth analysis of global trafficking and drug use trends involving cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine, opioids and other substances.
It revealed that cannabis remained the most widely used drug, with 256 million users, followed by opioids (63 million), amphetamines (32 million), cocaine (25 million) and ecstasy (21 million).
UNODC also highlighted the rapid evolution of synthetic drugs, revealing that authorities identified 755 new psychoactive substances in 2024, including 118 reported for the first time.
It added that the number of different drugs detected in seizures is now five times higher than it was before the year 2000.
The report’s lead researcher, Chloé Carpentier, warned that the growing diversity of the drug market has made it increasingly dangerous.
“The market is becoming very diverse, but also perhaps more dangerous,” Carpentier said.
“We don’t always know what we are taking, and first responders don’t know what they are responding to.”
According to the report, the global opioid market is approaching a turning point as a shift away from plant-based opiates could permanently transform the market.
It warned that synthetic opioids, some of which are even more potent than fentanyl, could pose even greater health risks.
“We see a lot of nitazenes now,” Carpentier said.
“The worry is really that synthetic opioids might replace heroin and lead to much more harm.”
The report also noted that methamphetamine has become a truly global drug, with new trafficking routes expanding across the Near and Middle East, Africa and parts of Europe.
UNODC stressed that the harms associated with drug use are influenced not only by the substances themselves but also by poverty, homelessness, poor mental health and unequal access to healthcare.
It found that women remain significantly less likely than men to receive treatment despite progressing more rapidly to drug dependence.
Globally, only one in 23 women with drug use disorders receives treatment, compared with one in nine men.
Women who inject drugs are also 20 per cent more likely to be living with HIV than men.
The report further identified young people as another major concern, warning that adolescence is a critical stage of brain development.
“Adolescence is really a critical period when the brain is still developing,” Carpentier said.
“Drug use during adolescence will have long-lasting effects on cognition and behaviour.”
It also warned that people displaced by conflict and humanitarian emergencies face a higher risk of developing drug use disorders while often struggling to access treatment, as emergency responses typically prioritise food, shelter and other immediate needs.
According to the report, conflict and drug trafficking continue to reinforce one another, creating a cycle in which instability fuels illicit markets while trafficking profits finance further violence.
Carpentier stressed that international collaboration remains crucial in tackling the growing complexity of global drug markets.
“We cannot achieve anything without international cooperation.”