26 June 2018•Update: 27 June 2018
By Fatih Erel
GENEVA
Global cocaine and opium production have hit record highs, the UN's World Drug Report said on Tuesday.
More than a quarter million people in the world use drugs each year, it said, resulting in half a million deaths.
In the past year, 13 million 15-16 year olds used cannabis.
Some 5.6 percent of the global adult population, which makes up 275 million people, used drugs at least once in 2015.
Some 31 million people suffered from drug use disorders and 450,000 people died as a result of drug use in 2015.
"The findings of this year's World Drug Report show that drug markets are expanding, with cocaine and opium production hitting absolute record highs, presenting multiple challenges on multiple fronts," Yury Fedotov, executive director of UN Office on Drugs and Crime, said.
"Global cocaine manufacture in 2016 reached the highest level ever reported, with an estimated 1,410 tons being produced. Most of the world's cocaine comes from Colombia," the report said.
The actual number of people who use drugs increased by 20 million people from 2015 to 2016, the report said.
Opioids were the most harmful drug type and accounted for 76 percent of the negative health impact associated with drug use disorders worldwide, it said.
The total global opium production jumped by 65 per cent from 2016 to 2017 to 10,500 tons, it said.
"A marked increase in opium poppy cultivation and gradually improving yields in Afghanistan resulted in opium production there last year reaching 9,000 tons," it said.
According to the report, the Balkan route continues to dominate the trafficking of opiates originating in Afghanistan.
Most of the heroin and morphine seized on the Balkan route was seized in the Islamic Republic of Iran with 32 tons, while smaller quantities were seized in Turkey with 5.6 tons, and the Balkan countries with 0.8 tons.
