Cannabis remains the most popular drug in the world, according to a new report from the United Nations drug watchdog, which charts how the consumption of several major illicit substances has shifted over the past decade. The findings point to a global drug landscape that is not only expanding but also changing in the way narcotics are produced, sold and consumed across different regions and social groups.
According to the report, cannabis sits at the top of a list of the most widely used drugs, followed by opioids, amphetamines, cocaine and ecstasy. The ranking underscores the dominant position that cannabis continues to hold in global drug use, even as concern grows over the spread of more potent and dangerous synthetic substances elsewhere in the market.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime, known as the UNODC, said the use of cannabis has continued to grow, a trend it links to the wave of legalisation and decriminalisation seen in various parts of the world. The number of cannabis users rose by 40 percent between 2014 and 2024, with almost 5 percent of the global population reported to have used the drug in 2024.
One of the most striking findings concerns cocaine, whose production has seen a four-fold increase over the course of a decade. The sharp rise reflects an expanding supply that has fed into wider availability of the drug, and the report frames it as one of the clearest signs of how quickly parts of the illicit market have grown in recent years.
The UNODC also pointed to changes in how cocaine is being consumed. It highlighted a surge in the use of a less pure version of the drug among socio-economically disadvantaged groups, a shift that suggests cocaine is reaching new and more vulnerable populations rather than remaining confined to wealthier users in established markets.
Methamphetamine is another area of concern flagged in the findings. Seizure data analysed by the watchdog suggests there has been an estimated 13 percent growth in the production of the illicit stimulant, an increase that points to a steadily widening supply of one of the most addictive drugs currently in circulation around the world.
Alongside the rise in output, the UNODC said it had observed the emergence of new markets for methamphetamine, indicating that the drug is spreading into regions where it was previously less established. Taken together, the report paints a picture of a global drug trade that is growing in scale and reach, with both traditional substances and potent synthetics gaining ground.