Cocaine production, seizures and use are set to hit record highs in 2023, the UN drug agency said on Thursday, June 26, with the illicit drug market the fastest growing in the world.
Illicit production has risen to 3,708 tonnes, up nearly 34% from 2022 and more than four times the level of a decade ago, when it was at its lowest, the Vienna-based UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in an annual report.
The report also said the current surge was largely due to an increase in illicit coca bush cultivation in Colombia and updated yield data.
Global cocaine seizures also reached a record high of 2,275 tonnes, up 68% in the four years to 2023.
The number of cocaine users has also risen to 25 million in 2023, up from 17 million a decade earlier.
“Cocaine has become fashionable for wealthier societies,” said UNODC Principal Researcher Angela Me, noting a “vicious cycle” of rising consumption and production.
While Colombia remains the main producer, cocaine traffickers are expanding into new markets in Asia and Africa, and organised crime groups from the Western Balkans are gaining influence, according to the report.
Read also: