UN Expresses Worries over Legalisation of Cannabis in Some Parts of the World

*Insists it increases in global drug abuse

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

The United Nations has condemned the recent legalisation of cannabis in some parts of the world, lamenting that such action has led to global increase in use and abuse of drugs.

A statement by the UN Information Service yesterday said cannabis legalisation in some parts of the world appears to have accelerated the daily use and related health impacts, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) World Drug Report 2022.

The report, which was issued yesterday, also showed rises in the manufacturing of cocaine, the expansion of synthetic drugs to new markets, and continued gaps in the availability of drug treatments, especially for women.

According to the report, around 284 million people between the ages of 15 and 64 used drugs worldwide in 2020, a 26 per cent increase over the previous decade. Young people are using more drugs, with use levels today in many countries higher than the previous generation.

In Africa and Latin America, people under 35 represent the majority being treated for drug use disorders.

Globally, the report estimates that 11.2

million people worldwide were injecting drugs. Around half of this number are living with hepatitis C; 1.4 million were living with HIV, and 1.2 million were living with both.

The statement said while reacting to these findings, UNODC Executive Director, Ghada Waly, stated that: “Numbers for the manufacturing and seizures of many illicit drugs are hitting record highs, even as global emergencies are deepening vulnerabilities. At the same time, misperceptions regarding the magnitude of the problem and the associated harms are depriving people of care and treatment and driving young people towards harmful behaviours.

“We need to devote the necessary resources and attention to addressing every aspect of the world drug problem, including the provision of evidence-based care to all who need it, and we need to improve the knowledge base on how illicit drugs relate to other urgent challenges, such as conflicts and environmental degradation.”

The report further emphasises the importance of galvanising the international community, governments, civil society and all stakeholders to take urgent action to protect people, including by strengthening drug use prevention and treatment and by tackling illicit drug supply.

The report stated that early indications and effects of cannabis legalisation in North America appears to have increased daily cannabis use, especially potent cannabis products and particularly among young adults. Associated increases in people with psychiatric disorders, suicides and hospitalisations have also been reported. Legalisation has also increased tax revenues and generally reduced arrest rates for cannabis possession.

According to the report, there’s continued growth in drug production and trafficking, revealing that cocaine  manufacture was at a record high in 2020, growing 11 per cent from 2019 to 1,982 tons. Cocaine seizures also increased, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, to a record 1,424 tons in 2020.

Nearly 90 per cent of cocaine seized globally in 2021 was trafficked in containers and/or by sea. Seizure data suggest that cocaine trafficking is expanding to other regions outside the main markets of North America and Europe, with increased levels of trafficking to Africa and Asia.

 The report also showed that trafficking of methamphetamine continues to expand geographically with 117 countries reporting seizures of methamphetamine in 2016 to 2020 versus 84 in 2006 to 2010, with the quantities of methamphetamine seized growing five-fold between 2010 and 2020.

In the United States and Canada, overdose deaths predominantly driven by an epidemic of the non-medical use of fentanyl, continue to break records. Preliminary estimates in the United States point to more than 107,000 drug overdose deaths in 2021 up from nearly 92,000 in 2020.

In the two largest markets for methamphetamine, seizures have been increasing ‐ they rose by seven per cent in North America from the previous year, while in South-East Asia they increased by 30 per cent from the previous year, record highs in both regions. A record high was also reported for methamphetamine seizures reported from South-West Asia, increasing by 50 per cent in 2020 from 2019.