TAG: GS 2: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
THE CONTEXT: The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) launched the World Drug Report 2024, highlighting the mounting harms associated with global drug issues.
EXPLANATION:
- The report details the proliferation of new synthetic opioids, record levels of drug supply and demand, and the ensuing rise in drug use disorders and environmental damage.
Highlights of the report
- The report reveals a significant increase in the number of drug users worldwide, reaching 292 million in 2022—a 20% rise over the past decade.
- Cannabis remains the most widely used drug with 228 million users, followed by opioids (60 million), amphetamines (30 million), cocaine (23 million), and ecstasy (20 million).
- The emergence of nitazenes, a group of synthetic opioids more potent than fentanyl, has led to an increase in overdose deaths, especially in high-income countries.
- Despite the growing number of drug users, treatment accessibility remains alarmingly low.
- Approximately 64 million people suffer from drug use disorders, but only one in 11 receive treatment.
- The disparity is even more pronounced among women, with only one in 18 women with drug use disorders receiving treatment compared to one in seven men.
Criminal Justice and Drug Offences
- In 2022, about 7 million people were in contact with law enforcement for drug-related offences, with two-thirds due to drug use or possession.
- Additionally, 2.7 million people were prosecuted, and over 1.6 million were convicted globally for drug offences.
- The criminal justice response varies significantly across regions, reflecting different legal frameworks and enforcement priorities.
- The report includes special chapters addressing critical issues such as the impact of the opium ban in Afghanistan, synthetic drugs and gender, cannabis legalization impacts, the psychedelic “renaissance,” the right to health for drug users, and the linkage between drug trafficking and other illicit activities in the Golden Triangle.
Drug Trafficking and Organized Crime
- Drug trafficking, particularly in the Golden Triangle, is linked to other illegal economies, including wildlife trafficking, financial fraud, and illegal resource extraction.
- These activities contribute to environmental degradation through deforestation, toxic waste dumping, and chemical contamination.
- Displaced, poor, and migrant communities suffer the most, often forced into opium farming or illegal extraction to survive, leading to debt entrapment and increased drug use.
Cocaine Production and its Consequences
- Cocaine production reached a new high of 2,757 tons in 2022, a 20% increase from 2021.
- Coca bush cultivation also rose by 12% to 355,000 hectares.
- This surge has led to increased violence in supply chain countries, such as Ecuador and Caribbean nations, and heightened health risks in destination countries, including Western and Central Europe.
Impact of Cannabis Legalization
- As of January 2024, Canada, Uruguay, and 27 jurisdictions in the United States have legalized cannabis for non-medical use.
- This legalization has accelerated harmful use and diversified cannabis products, many with high-THC content.
- In Canada and the US, hospitalizations for cannabis use disorders and psychiatric issues related to cannabis use have increased, particularly among young adults.
The Psychedelic Renaissance
- Interest in the therapeutic use of psychedelics for mental health disorders is growing, but clinical research has not yet established scientific guidelines for medical use.
- The “psychedelic renaissance” has led to increased commercial interest and broad access to unsupervised, quasi-therapeutic, and non-medical use of psychedelics.
- This trend risks outpacing scientific evidence and guidelines, potentially compromising public health and increasing health risks.
Afghanistan’s Opium Ban
- The opium production ban in Afghanistan led to a 95% decrease in production in 2023, resulting in a 74% global decline in opium production.
- This dramatic drop has impoverished Afghan farmers and enriched traffickers.
- Long-term impacts include potential changes in heroin purity, increased use of other opioids by heroin users, and a rise in demand for opiate treatment services in transit and destination countries.
Right to Health for Drug Users
- The report emphasizes that the right to health is a universally recognized human right, applicable to all individuals regardless of drug use status or incarceration.
- This right extends to drug users, their families, and communities, underscoring the need for equitable health care access and support.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
- The United Nations Office (UNO) on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is a United Nations office that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the United Nations International Drug Control Program (UNDCP) and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division in the United Nations Office at Vienna, adopting the current name in 2002.
- It relies on voluntary contributions, mainly from governments, to carry out the majority of our work.
- Its headquarters is in Vienna, Austria
- Functions of UNODC:
- It works to educate people throughout the world about the dangers of drug abuse.
- Strengthen international action against illicit drug production and trafficking and drug-related crime.
- It also works to improve crime prevention and assist with criminal justice reform in order to strengthen the rule of law, promote stable and viable criminal justice systems and combat the growing threats of transnational organized crime and corruption.
- In 2002, the UN General Assembly approved an expanded programme of activities for the Terrorism Prevention Branch of UNODC. The activities focus on providing assistance to States, on request, in ratifying and implementing the eighteen universal legal instruments against terrorism.
