This third booklet of the World Drug Report 2022 has a dual focus: cannabis and opioids.
The first chapter of the present booklet starts with an analysis of the global supply of and trafficking trends in cannabis resin and herb. It provides the latest estimates on cannabis use and discusses the latest trends in regional cannabis markets. The chapter also briefly reviews the medical use of cannabinoid-based pharmaceutical products and the extent to which countries allow medical use of cannabis products. The chapter continues with a brief overview of the latest developments in cannabis regulations in selected countries and concludes with a detailed analysis of early indications of the impact of cannabis legalization on public health, public safety, market dynamics and criminal justice responses in the jurisdictions in North America that have legalized the non-medical use of cannabis.
The second chapter of the booklet provides an overview of opioids as a group of substances and their patterns of non-medical use at the global level. It also reviews the latest trends in the global supply of opiates and synthetic opioids and the availability of pharmaceutical opioids for medical consumption. Issues specific to regional patterns and trends in opioid markets are also analysed, including the opioid crisis in North America and in Africa and the Middle East. The chapter also includes a discussion of the potential impact, in the region and worldwide, of changes in opium poppy cultivation and opium production in Afghanistan.
