According to a UN report, hemp drugs are the cause of around 30 percent of therapies in the EU. The UN warns that the war in Ukraine could fuel drug production.
According to the United Nations (UN), the increasing use of cannabis is putting additional strain on healthcare facilities. In the European Union (EU), hemp drugs are the cause of around 30 percent of drug therapies, according to the annual report of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna, which became public on Monday. In Africa and some Latin American countries, most such therapies are related to cannabis addiction.
The increasing potency of hash and marijuana on the market, combined with regular use, has led to a rise in addiction and mental illness in Western Europe, according to UNODC. In North America, as a result of the legalization of cannabis, consumption is also increasing – especially among young adults. A growing proportion of psychiatric disorders and suicides there are linked to regular cannabis use, the report said. Hospital stays are also increasing. The UNODC acknowledged that the legal sale of these drugs has increased tax revenues and reduced arrests for cannabis possession.
Greatest harm from opioids
The United Nations drug watchdog also pointed out that by far the greatest harm in North America continues to be from dangerous opioids. One of these heroin-like substances is fentanyl. According to preliminary estimates, around 108,000 people died from an overdose in the United States in 2021, 17 percent more than the year before.
The UNODC speaks of another “opioid epidemic” caused by the abuse of the painkiller tramadol in northern and western Africa and in the Middle East. There is also evidence of tramadol drug use in Asia and Europe.
The UN agency is also concerned that other stronger drugs will find new markets. Seizures indicate that cocaine smuggling is spreading beyond the main distribution areas of North America and Europe to Africa and Asia. Methamphetamine, which is also a stimulant, is no longer just a problem in East and Southeast Asia, but also in countries like Afghanistan and Mexico.
The UNODC estimates that 284 million young people and adults use drugs. These calculations are based on the latest available figures from 2020. More than 11 million people inject drugs with syringes. Half of them are infected with hepatitis C, 1.4 million are living with HIV.
The report also referred to a current political component: According to the United Nations, the Ukraine war could lead to an increase in drug production. Conflict regions would act like a “magnet” for the production of synthetic drugs. “This effect may be greater when the conflict region is near major hypermarkets.”
Drug labs in Ukraine could increase
According to the UNODC, the number of drug laboratories for the production of amphetamines closed by the authorities in Ukraine has risen sharply in recent years, from 17 in 2019 to 79 in 2020. This was the highest number of closed amphetamine laboratories in the world.
As the war continues, the number of drug labs could increase further. “There is no police patrolling and stopping laboratories,” UNODC expert Angela Me told the AFP news agency, referring to conflict zones. However, according to the report, the Ukraine war could also lead to drug smuggling routes being disrupted or postponed.
Meanwhile, according to the UN experts, the development of the market for opium-based drugs such as heroin depends on the situation in the crisis-ridden Afghanistan. 86 percent of the world’s opium was produced there last year.
Increased poppy cultivation in Afghanistan feared
According to the UNODC report, the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan could lead to increased poppy cultivation, even though the ruling Taliban banned cultivation in April. “Changes in opium production in Afghanistan will impact opiate markets in all regions of the world,” the UNODC report said.
According to the information, an estimated 284 million people used drugs worldwide last year. This means that every 18th person between the ages of 15 and 64 took drugs.
(APA/DPA)