Global drug use remains stable, Afghan opium of concern: UNODC

Global drug use has remained stable though a surge in opium production in Afghanistan is of concern, the United Nations drugs and crime agency revealed Thursday.

As part of its 2014 World Drug Report presented in Vienna, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said around 243 million people across the world aged 15-64 used an illicit drug in 2012, while those with a habitual drug problem numbered about 27 million.

UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov said the surge in Afghan opium production presented a setback, with the overall area of the country under opium cultivation increasing 36 percent from 2012 to 2013 providing for a crop yield of about 5,500 tons, or up to 80 percent of global production.

Global cannabis use was on the decline, the report said, though consumption in North America increased due to what is believed to be a perception of lower health risks associated with the drug.

Cocaine use between 2007 and 2012 had dropped somewhat due to lower availability, though seizures of methamphetamine had more than doubled between 2010 and 2012, with their manufacture expanding in North America.

Fedotov said around 200,000 drug-related deaths had occurred since 2012, and called for a stronger focus on the health and human rights of drug users, including the provision of services focusing on prevention, treatment, and social rehabilitation.