The UN warns that drug consumption reaches record levels in the world
The UN warns of a worrying increase in drug production and consumption in the world, while denouncing that inequalities aggravate the harmful effect of addictions on a global scale. The World [b][url=https://iebpharma.com/product/osicent-80-mg-osimertinib/]Osicent 80 mg (Osimertinib)[/url][/b] Drug Report 2023, released in Vienna, highlights that drug users increased by 23% in the last decade, up to 296 million, which represents 5.8% of the global population between 15 and 64 years old.
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Drug-related deaths also grew by 17.5% between 2009 and 2019, to around 500,000. Hepatitis C and overdoses were the main causes of death. Opioids, such as [b][url=https://iebpharma.com/product/osimert-80mg-osimertinib/]Osimert 80mg (Osimertinib)[/url][/b] heroin and fentanyl, are the most lethal type of drug. Cannabis remains the most popular drug, with some 219 million users, followed by opioids, amphetamines, cocaine and ecstasy-type stimulants.

Cocaine production reached an all-time high in 2021 and demand is also at an all-time high, raising fears that the drug is expanding outside its traditional markets in North America and Europe.

Fentanyl triggers overdose deaths to record numbers
"Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, is transforming drug markets in North America, contributing to high levels of overdoses among drug users ," warns [b][url=https://iebpharma.com/product/osimertinib-tagrix-80-mg/]Osimertinib (Tagrix 80 Mg)[/url][/b] that analysis. This report, which analyzes the state of narcotic production, trafficking and consumption in the world, indicates that around 80,000 people died from opioid overdoses in the United States in 2021, 60% more than in 2019.

The majority of these deaths, about 70,000, are attributed to synthetic pharmaceutical opioids, primarily fentanyl.

This crisis, notes the UNODC, is not due to an increase in the number of users, but to the lethal effects of fentanyl.

"The opioid epidemic related to illicitly produced fentanyls in North America has driven the number of overdose deaths to historic highs, with an acceleration during the Covid-19 pandemic," summarizes the UNODC.

The report indicates that women account for 30% of all overdose deaths in the United States.

In Canada, overdose deaths related to synthetic opioids have also increased, with fentanyl as the main substance.

Thus, the UNODC report indicates that samples of that drug were found in 86% of those who died from opioid overdoses in the first six months of 2021. In that year, about 8,000 people died in Canada from opioid overdoses.

Mental health and consumption
The UN explains the increase in consumers, in part, by the expansion of the world's population, but also due to the growing "agility" of criminal groups in the manufacture of narcotics and new forms of marketing on the Internet. Another important factor behind the increase in consumption is "mental health problems", especially after the anxiety situations caused by the pandemic, according to Angela Me.

Despite the increase in the most serious cases of drug disorders around the world, only one in five people in this situation receives any type of treatment. "The number of people suffering from drug use disorders has skyrocketed to 39.5 million, an increase of 45% in 10 years," the report highlights.

The UN recalls that there is a relationship between mental illness and drug use and that many people turn to substances on the illegal market to self-medicate. "Many people who use drugs do so as self-medication, it's not just to get high," explained Chloe Carpentier, a UN researcher, to break with the idea that narcotic use is only for recreational purposes.

Therefore, the report asks States to prioritize public health, prevention and access to treatment services to respond to the situation.