New estimates of people who inject drugs are higher than previously estimated as treatment Services and other interventions fall short, including for record numbers of displaced people due to humanitarian crises
The Report features a special chapter on drug trafficking and crimes that affect the Environment in the Amazon Basin, as well as sections on clinical trials involving psychedelics and medical use of cannabis; drug use in humanitarian settings; innovations in drug treatment and other services; and drugs and conflict.
The World Drug Report 2023 also highlights how social and economic inequalities drive and are driven by drug challenges; the environmental devastation and Human Rights abuses caused by illicit drug economies; and the rising dominance of synthetic drugs.
Public Health, prevention, and access to treatment services must be prioritized worldwide, the report argues, or drug challenges will leave more people behind. The report further underscores the need for law enforcement responses to keep pace with agile criminal business models and the proliferation of cheap synthetic drugs that are easy to bring to market.